Pastor's Annual Report:

     We have traveled through the year 2011 weekly attending the worship of God--the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Worship of our strong and loving God should be central time in our weekly activities. We gather to thank, praise and adore our God, known so clearly to us in Jesus. For all who gather Sunday mornings and give of their resources for the on-going witness to Jesus, we thank you and ask God's blessed presence to be with you in the coming year of 2012.

Our worship services have been lead by your Pastor, visiting clergy and a group of dedicated lay persons. It is good to have a variety of people involved in the worship services. Often it is too easy for the weekly services to become just one person's approach to worship. The litany of voices each Sunday is a reminder that we are a "people" of God at worship.

So, I take this opportunity to thank the many voices we have heard lifting God in a variety of responses. The voices of prayer, the voices raised in melodious music, the sound of notes being played on the organ and/or piano, the voices heard in the hymns of the Church and the voices heard in the words of Holy Scriptures.

In this mix of persons here at Our Saviour's are those who continue in many tasks not always seen: the custodians of cleaning, the mowers of the lawn, the planters of the flowers, the movers of the snow, the keepers of the finances, the beautifiers of the altar area with flowers and greenery, the teachers of the young and mature members, and for all the many who serve in ways known only to God. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATED SERVICES.

Wednesday, midweek Bible study has continued throughout most of the year 2011. We have finished the Gospel of Luke's good news and are now reading the good news as recorded in the last book of the Bible, The Revelation of Jesus Christ [as the book begins]. All are welcome to come to the study at 5:00pm Wednesdays and read along in faith as we read of the Apocalypse with all its strangeness and wonder.

We gather during LENT with our fellow church members from congregations in the surrounding community in worship, fellowship and learning. Ash Wednesday is a short way off, February 22nd. The theme for the 2012 journey will soon be disclosed.

Far beyond the roads of French Lake the gospel continues to touch people's lives with our support of the mission work of the Abel family. It is always good to hear from their family as they share their gospel work carried out in Brazil.

May we as a gathering and dispersing people of God continue in the witness to His saving grace and peace in Jesus. God bless Our Saviour's presence through His people here at French Lake corners.  Sincerely, Pastor Edward Groop  January 29, 2012

14550 County Rd 37 NW, Annandale, MN, USA

Upcoming Opportunities:

• Sunday, January 22--9:30am Youth Sunday School and Adult Bible Study; 10:30am Worship Service.
• Wednesday, January 25--5pm Bible Study on the Book of Revelation.
• Sunday, January 29--9:30am Youth and Adult Sunday School; 10:30am Worship Service; followed by Potluck meal, then the Annual Church Meeting. Donations will be also accepted for the Annandale Area Foodshelf in the form of non-perishable items and monetary gifts.
• Wednesday, February 1--NO Bible Study tonight; please read the Book of Revelation at home.
• Sunday, February 5--9:30am Youth and Adult Sunday School; 10:30am Worship Service.

Future Dates/Times to Remember:

• January 29, 2012 Annual Church meeting.
• January 29 is also our "Souper Bowl of Caring" Sunday during which we will collect monetary and non-perishable items for the Annandale Area Foodshelf.
• February 22, 2012 ASH WEDNESDAY 7pm Lenten Service.

John and Rudy Abel, sponsored missionaries to Brazil, have written a book about their experiences. Copies of their mission story "50 Years Under the Southern Cross" are available. Funds from the book purchases go towards mission work in Brazil.

Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethern, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

"A low standard of religion lives by a low standard of prayer...we must give ourselves fully to God in prayer. He does have a plan for you; you just have to ask Him what His plan is."

Dear Father God, Thank You for giving Your Word to us. We surrender our lives to You completely. We pray that we live holy and pleasing in Your sight. We thank You for daily guiding us. In the name of Your precious Son, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen

Carefully read the following using your inner eye to "see" the scene.

John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and whic is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne.

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending," saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars; and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in His strength.

The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

exerpts from Revelation 1

If you were to draw the scene described in these verses what would it look like? When reading the written Word be "creative" in your mind in order to "catch" what is being "pictured".