Pastor’s August Message

Pastor’s Message:  What Children Owe Their Parents – The Fourth Commandment

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and your mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.            Ephesians 6:1-3

We are doing a little backtracking from our Vacation Bible School verses that taught us to be dressed with the armor of God as found in Ephesians 6:10-18. It is no accident that this chapter of Ephesians begins as it does. If a child is to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of God and seek to be dressed as a child of God in our ever-changing world this journey has to start at home. Daughters and sons must learn to honor and obey their parents if they are to learn rightly to honor and obey God.

Jesus confronted the church people of His own day who tried to circumvent God’s teaching concerning this Commandment. In Matthew 15 Jesus confronts the Pharisees and scribes who were accusing His disciples and Him of breaking the “traditions of the elders” by not washing their hands. He does this by showing them how they were despising the very Commandment of God by not financially caring for their own parents. He asked them, “Why do you break the Commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” He uses the 4^th Commandment as His proof. “For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother, and whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, if anyone tells his father or his mother, ‘What you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the Word of God. You hypocrites!” (Matthew 15:2-7a) Do you see the punishment that Jesus refers to for those who revile (hate, continually disobey and dishonor, fail to care for) their parents? Death! Jesus calls out these “holy in their own eyes” critics as pretenders. They subverted God’s clear command for the sake of their own selfishness.

Point one for you kids (young and adult) who are called to honor, respect, and obey your parents: Your sinful, selfish nature will get in the way of this. These obviously not so holy men had made their human law to disregard and indeed supercede God’s unchangeable heavenly Law. You can’t do an end around on what God commands and get away with it. God sees the motivations of sin-filled hearts, as Jesus did with His accusers. They had written a law that would take the obligation and responsibility away from them of caring for their parents. They concluded if they gave this “money” to God it got them out of this responsibility. This is really a timely subject as many children have to make decisions on how to care for their parents when they get to the point that they can no longer care for themselves. It is not our government’s responsibility to care for these needy parents if there are capable and able children that are available. These end of life decisions that are put before the children of parents will only be made in a Godly way if the Godly instruction of our children is a priority at the beginning and early years of their lives. Children, there are important commandments of God that you must not only learn in your head, but must put into effect in your lives if you are to honor both God and your parents while God gives you life here.

Why do you struggle to keep this Commandment of God, child of God? Are there things in your own life that move you to disregard and disobey God’s clear command? Do you talk back to your parents, argue with them when they make a simple request of you? Do you disregard their positive teaching convincing yourself that you know better than they do? Do you say one thing to them to their face, but in the end do the opposite, in effect lying to them with no regard to the serious affect this has on your relationship with them. You cannot act as if you are your own god. Child of God, you are a sinner that must learn that which is pleasing to God, so that you might act in a way that is both pleasing to God and your parents. Don’t look for excuses or make a list of your own laws (“I’ll listen to my parents only when I feel like it.”) that you convince yourself are better than God’s unchanging Law.

Children, love your parents. And I don’t mean to do this only in words, saying to them that you love them. Love them with your actions. Teenager, when your mom or dad wakes you to get up for church in the morning, don’t look for an excuse to stay home from church. I will also tell you that you can be a positive influence on them too. If your parent is using some excuse to “forget” the Sabbath Day remind them how important it is to be in the presence of God receiving His gracious, forgiving gifts on this day He set aside to do this. Do things in the house without them having to ask or even badger you. Take out the garbage. Pick up your bedroom. Look for ways you can serve them without them even asking. Such shows honor to them and to the gracious God who commands you to honor them. Think of how such positive hearing and doing will bring blessings into your household and in your relationship with your parents, with others, and with Jesus who gave everything to His Father that you might be the child of God. Lord, help me both to learn and to practice what I learn from Your Word that I might honor mother and father with my life. Amen.

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“JIM’S PUNS.” 

Q: What do they serve at birthday parties in heaven?

A: Angel  food cake.

Did you hear bout the man who misspelled a name on aheadstone?

He made a grave  mistake.

Q: Why can’t the bank manager ride a bike anymore?

A: He lost his balance.

Police Officer:  I’m arresting you for stealing an entire set of encyclopedias.

Suspect: Wait! I can explain everything.

Q: what washes up on really small beaches?

A: Micro-waves

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Plan some lunches for the month at the Community Center: The fourth Thursday of August the 24^th will be Lutheran Church of Our Savior Day for lunch at the Community Center. Please look at the schedule of lunches in this issue of the Lamplighter and make plans to eat at the Lutheran Social Services prepared lunches with some friends or co-workers. Just be aware you need to call the center at 831-6161 a day ahead so that they can properly plan for the eat in diners. Our congregational members are encouraged to especially plan to eat lunch at the center on the 4^th Thursday of every month. This month the menu for the 24^th is Pork Loin, Yams, Broccoli, Bread and butter, and dessert. Suggested donation for the meal is $ 4 for those over 60, $ 8.75 for those under 60. What a deal!

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Free Concert at Arnold’s Park – Steven Curtis Chapman on Sunday, August 6: Do you like Contemporary Christian Music? Plan on attending the free to you concert being held at Preservation Plaza in Arnold’s Park on Sunday, August 6. Music begins with Natalie Layne at 7:15 p.m. Steven Curtis Chapman will begin at 8:45 p.m. Our congregation can help out by giving a donation for this concert so that it can continue to bring the Gospel in music to our area each summer.

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Youth Camp at Okoboji – Sunday, August 13 to Wednesday, August 16: Kids from grade 6 to grade 12 (high school) will have an opportunity to grow in faith while having a great time on the Lake at our LC-MS camp in Okoboji. Our topic for this year’s camp is “Worldviews and Christian Apologetics” or more simply what are the things that people believe and why do they believe them; and how can I better know and defend my Christian faith. This will be an introductory course in these topics, hopefully spurring the interests of those who attend to dig much deeper. There are still some spaces available, but time is running out to register. Call Pastor Sajban at 822-5256 for more details.

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Confirmation for the Fall: Beginning on Rally Day, September 10 there will be a new format for parents and children of Confirmation age to study and learn together. On this first Sunday parents will learn about the upcoming year of study for them and their children in a short meeting this Sunday. Each Sunday in later months will be a time to review the upcoming lessons that will be taught in the coming months. Pastor will contact the Confirmation families with more information on this new format.

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Open House with Bouncy Houses for Sonshine Preschool: August 24 from 5 to 7 p.m. Sonshine School of The Lutheran Church of Our Savior will host an Open House for families of the community with bouncy houses and food. This will be an opportunity for families who have preschool aged children to come and explore what our Sonshine School has to offer. There will be hot dogs, popcorn, and root beer floats offered as food. There is no charge for families to attend.

Church Picnic after church service on Sunday, August 27: We are going to have some of the men grilling and make use of the bouncy houses from the previous Thursday for our families and kids. There will be some sign ups in the back of the church for you to provide a salad/side dish and/or dessert for this picnic. We will have tables set up outside, and of course you can bring your meal inside depending on the weather conditions. The Bouncy Houses from the Sonshine Open House will be available for our use at this picnic. There will be water slides, so bring your swim suits and towels to church this morning.

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 Sunday Service: August 6th at 9:00 am

Divine I Service with Holy Communion

Sunday Service: August 13th at 9:00 am

Prayer and Preaching Service

Sunday Service: August 20th  at 9:00am

Divine III Service With Holy Communion

Sunday Service: August 27th at 9:00 am

Diving IV Service With Holy Communion

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AUGUST HYMN OF THE MONTH 2023

LSB 752 Be Still, My Soul, the Lord is On Your Side

 

A hymn that is often used for funeral services is “Be Still, My Soul, the Lord is On Your Side.”

It was written by Catharina Amelia Schlegel, presumably born on October 22, 1697.  Not much is known of her life.  She may have had some connection to the court at Kothen which is now in present day Saxony, a state of Germany.  Twenty-nine hymns, now extant, were credited to her in ancient German songbooks (1744 and 1752).  Her words were translated by Jane Laurie Bothwick (1813-1897) and appeared in a hymnal in 1855.  Our LSB version is an altered and updated version of this, omitting several verses of the original hymn.  Our church body first included it in the 1941 hymnal (TLH).

The words of this beautiful hymn are perhaps based on Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  Twice in each verse we sing “Be still, my soul”  Why?  Because the Lord is on our side!  And in verse one we are exhorted to trust that God is faithful and will lead us in every trouble to a joyful end.  Verse two reminds us He will guide our future as He has done in the past.  Let nothing shake our confidence that He is ruling now, as when Jesus was here on earth.  When we lose loved ones in death we sorrow, He comes to comfort us and take away our tears.  Finally, we consider our own departure when we, too, shall be forever with the Lord.  Sorrow and tears will be forgot when we shall finally meet and be safe forever with our Savior.

The beautiful music that we now use to sing this hymn was not available until 1900 when the work  “Finlandia”  by Jean Sibelius was performed.  It was a tone poem composed as a political protest against Russian interference in political affairs.  Some wise musician chose the melody used in this work to wed it to the words of this poem, now a beautiful hymn. May you be blessed as we sing this hymn, or use it in your personal devotions.

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COATS FOR  KIDS

Event Date: August 22^nd, 2023, 3pm-5pm at the BARC Building located at 1012 5^th Avenue, Windom, MN 56101

This year’s Coats for Kids Drive will be in partnership with the UCAP Back to School Drive event. Coats will be provided first come first serve. If you have questions/concerns, please contact Luke Ewald at Public Health 507-847-6930 or 612-597-0433

Drop off locations for donations: American Lutheran Church, Runnings, Windom Area Health/Hospital, Baptist Church, United Methodist Church, Lutheran Church of Our Savior, BARC, First Presbyterian Church- Windom.

Coats, gloves, mittens, snow-pants, and boots are welcomed! Please ensure all materials are clean and minimal wear/tear.

Donations will be picked up by 8/16/2023

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Vacation Bible School was held July 17-20, 2023. Keepers of the Kingdom focused on the epic battle between two spiritual kingdoms, the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness. Students learned how to become part of God’s good kingdom through faith in his Son, what the pieces of the armor of God are and what they represent, to put on what’s right (Jesus’ righteousness), then do right, to guard against false teaching and temptations, to be ready to give answers for the hope they have, and to be “keepers of the kingdom”.

During the week, we focused on Ephesians 6:10-18a, The Whole Armor of God. Each VBS Session started at Assembly where children sang songs, heard God’s Word, prayed, and learned about our Mission Project. Next, children rotated between five sites: Truth Talk Lesson, Crafts, Music, Treats and Science, and Games, before coming back together as a whole group for Closing. This year’s lessons included:  The Two Kingdoms, The Belt, The Breastplate and Shoes, The Shield and Helmet, and The Sword and Prayer. The closing program was held on July 20th.

Thank you to our 2023 VBS Volunteers!

Þ Grades 3-6 Teacher: Pastor Paul Sajban

Þ Grades K-2 Teacher: Darla Friesen

Þ Preschool Teacher: Megan Kremmin

Þ Group Leaders: Keri Oltmans & Joel Alvstad

Þ Snack Leaders: JoAnn Sandbo & Sandy Robinson

Þ Science Leader: Joel & Laura Alvstad

Þ Games Leader: Madeline Alvstad

Þ Craft Leaders: Nancy & Rachel Sajban

Þ Music Leaders: Scott & Madelyn Oltmans

Þ Monday Supper Provider: Faith in Action

Þ Tuesday Supper Provider: Oltmans & Winters Family

Þ Wednesday Supper Provider: LWML

Þ Thursday Supper Provider: Men’s Bible  Study

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From the Treasure:

As you know the voters have given the Trustees authority to patch and seal the parking lot for up to $30,000. I wish to bring to your attention some of the current finances of the church.  First of all, the building fund is set aside by you, the members in your offerings. We have a regular part of $21,951 and what was collected for the window repair of $1,745. What this means is that there is enough dedicated for building and grounds expense for 2/3rd of the project already. Now comes the other side to consider. We have a General Fund deficit of $39,169 that our surplus of other funds makes it so we do not have to borrow. We do have investments that we supplement our General fund for things like the VBS program, radio sponsorship, youth camps, Sonshine teacher and assistant salaries, and sanctuary needs that come up. There are enough funds to cover what we will need for the parking lot. We will still have the problem of falling short of our budgeted needs. After the first six months of the year we are on a budget with expenses but almost $12,000 behind in income. What usually happens is that at the end of the year we show our rural roots and wait for the harvest to come in and we close the deficit. And that does make the treasurer smile more. We have a larger project planned for this year and I want you to know a little more about our fiscal health.

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Parking Lot Repair Information:

The service crew will:

1. rout out all mapping cracks a minimum of ¾” wide by ¾” deep
2. rout out all stress cracks a minimum of 1” wide by 1” deep
3. if the cracks are wider, they will be routed accordingly
4. the cracks will then be cleaned with high volume blowers
5. as a second cleaning procedure, a heat lance will be used to clean out any remaining debris and/or moisture
6. cracks will be filled three-quarters to full
7. after a cooling period, the cracks are filled a second time using a banding applicator
8. this does not include any allegated areas
9. we will sweep up any debris there may be from routing, which does not include sweeping the entire lot

Infrared Patching: The infrared machine leaves a seamless patch, by heating up an entire 5’x7’ (truck) or 2 ½’x12’ (trailer) area. The existing asphalt is raked in to the low areas and new virgin mix asphalt is added on the top surface. The final step is to roll the area to a smooth surface and let cool.

RePlay Procedure (clear seal coat): Clean the area in preparation for the seal coat. The RePlay Agricultural Oil Seal and Preservation Agent will be spray applied in one coat. replay is designed to extend the life of new and existing asphalt surfaces.

Pricing

#1 Infrared Patching: holes on NE drive and allegated areas. Also west side of lot and SE drive pothole. 11 heats @ $275.00/heat=$3,025.00

#2 Crack Repair: includes new, old or low cracks. Does not include allegated areas. Price is $12,662.00

#3 RePlay (clear): $10,487.75

#4 Pavement Striping (yellow): $1,377.50

** Striping costs are subject to paint availability and pricing at time of job letting.

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