Pastor David Nehrenz
tlcnormanpastor@gmail.com
Dear Saints in our Lord Jesus Christ!
“Faithfully Administering God’s Grace” is our 2021 Stewardship Theme.
Our theme verse this year is (1 Peter 4:7-11)
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
This month is the beginning of the festival half of the church year! Rejoice that you have a wonderful place to be divinely served by God in Word and Sacrament as you receive His bountiful gifts for your body and soul! Giving proportionately means that we give a set percentage of our income for the Gospel work of the Lord Jesus Christ in our local congregation and in the church-at-large in the LCMS. God bless our receiving and our giving. We walk by faith and as cheerful givers!
The Lord bless our singing and rejoicing and thanks-giving this month!
In Christ Jesus,
Pastor David Nehrenz
Vicar Jordan Peiser
tlcnormanvicar@gmail.com
I have been reflecting on the Gospel of Matthew as I go through it with my college Bible study group. It has struck me how much the Gospel deals with the immediacy of heaven. Jesus, shortly after His battle with the devil in the wilderness, comes back and proclaims, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As we read throughout the Gospel, we begin to understand that Jesus is, himself, the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is teaching us that heaven has met earth in Him. He went out to the poor, those who mourn, and the lonely. He went through towns and villages, “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness” (Matt 9:35).
The Gospel of Matthew teaches us that our Lord enters His creation, heals our brokenness, and promises that we are not alone. Jesus assures us that no matter how broken everything seems to be, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Heaven has met earth in Christ, and it continues to meet us in the Divine Service where Christ comes to us and gives us Himself in Word and Sacrament. His gift of grace brings heaven to us and works to restore what is broken, and on the last day, He will make all things new. And we will live with Him in His kingdom forever.
Let us pray: “Gracious God, our heavenly Father, Your mercy is with us all our days. Be our strength and support amid the wearisome changes of this world, and at life’s end grant us Your promised salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”
Vicar Jordan Peiser
