Pastor David Nehrenz
tlcnormanpastor@gmail.com
FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
Dear Saints in our Lord Jesus,
Another new Christian Church Year begins on The First Sunday in Advent, December 1. The Festival season is upon us: Advent, Christmas, New Year’s and Epiphany! Let us rejoice and be glad!
The theme for our Advent Wednesday Vespers Services is “Arise O Christian People” from LSB Hymn 354. The Light of Christ has arisen upon us!
As Isaiah the prophet writes in (Isaiah 11:1-10) “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. (2) And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. (3) And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, (4) but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. (5) Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
(6) The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. (7) The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. (8) The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. (9) They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (10) In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples–of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.”
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but through the means of grace He comes to us. He comes to forgive our sins and to give us eternal life! Jesus comes to us as the Gospel is preached, when we are baptized, when we are absolved, and when we commune at the Lord’s Table.
God, through His Son the babe of Mary, by the Spirit who lives in our hearts, has come to us! May our daily lives revolve around the cyclical flow of the Church Year and not be tossed around by the swift tides of modern fads and fake celebrations.
That flow of the new Church Year for this festival season is:
ADVENT Season – Dec. 1 through Dec. 24 (to Christmas Eve) – “Prophecies about Christ’s Coming”
CHRISTMAS Season – Dec. 25 (Christmas Day) through Jan. 6 (the 12 Days of Christmas) – “Jesus Comes – A Babe Born for the Jews”
EPIPHANY Season – begins on Jan. 6 – Epiphany – “Jesus Comes – A Star for the Gentile Magi”
The Light for the Jews and for us Gentile nations has come. Let heaven and earth rejoice!
In our Advent King, Christmas Savior and Epiphany Light – Jesus,
Pastor Nehrenz
NOTES:
- Plan to attend all of our Festival Services: The three Wednesday evening Advent Vespers Services, the Children’s Christmas worship programs, the Christmas Eve Candlelight Services, the Christmas Eve Communion Service, the Christmas Day Communion Services, New Year’s Eve and New Years Day Communion Services and the Epiphany of our Lord Communion Services.
Have this month’s church calendar on your refrigerator and make note of the dates and times. Also come to the Sunday Divine Services every Sunday and receive God’s gracious gifts with joy and exaltation!
- During Advent, use the Lutheran Hour Ministries Advent Devotional booklet with the theme: “Come Let Us Adore Him” as we prepare our hearts and minds for the celebration of the Incarnation.
Vicar Tanner Sawall
tlcnormanvicar@gmail.com
FROM THE VICAR
“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” – Psalm 103:10, 13-14
What blessed Words. Never before has such beauty been committed to page. The Lord in His boundless love not only had a way with words of beauty, but put such words to act – for our God is a God of action. We are in the season of Advent where we celebrate our Lord of Life breaking into our realm of sin, death, and the devil. He who is transcendent became immanent for us who could not free ourselves from our sinful condition. In the words of Ambrose of Milan “Here a maid was found with child yet remained a virgin mild. In her womb this truth was shown: God was there upon His throne. Then stepped forth the Lord of all from His pure and kingly hall; God of God, yet fully man, His heroic course began.” The proof is in the pudding, dear saints. Our Father understood keenly that we were wretched, filthy, and in cruel chains to the master of sin. In a world that is loveless, Love Himself came through the womb of a virgin. Through childbearing Jesus of Nazareth was born to us and the savior was given. This little child, cooing in a manger of animal feed, was slated to die on our behalf, to pay the debt we could not, and to love us who had no love for Him or each other. From this manger radiated newborn Light that shone in glory through our night. The darkness in our hearts no longer resides because in this Light faith now abides!
The Lord showed His compassion for us, as a father shows compassion for his children, in this wonderous birth of His Son. For His faithfulness to His promise of a savior, we can echo the exuberance of David at the end of Psalm 103 “Bless the Lord, O you His angels, you mighty ones who do His Word, obeying the voice of His Word! Bless the Lord, all His hosts, His ministers, who do His will! Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!”
Bless the Lord, fellow redeemed, bless His holy Name – Jesus, Son of Mary and Son of God!
In Christ,
Vicar Sawall
