Called to Live, Lead and Love in Christ

Individually called to:
Live even though we have died
Lead as we daily return to the cross of Christ
Love with the heart of God

Our Church Family has been called into a partnership in the Gospel to:
Live grace empowered lives
Lead others into the Word which calls them out of darkness into the Light
Love without end and without exception

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.

Philippians 1:3-6 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,
because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you
will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

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But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have

called you by name, you are mine.

(Isaiah 43:1 ESV)

WHAT? God can’t mean this, can He? Yes, GOD means it!

ME?  Called? ARE YOU SURE? Yes, WE ARE SURE!

REALLY? Yes, REALLY!

HOW CAN THIS BE? God says this.

God does this. God promises this!

God has called you!

Each and every celebration of Christmas tells us again that our God didn’t/doesn’t give up. “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son.” And we must not just say, God did-n’t/doesn’t give up. We must add “on me” and for good measure “on us.” So as we begin 2011, we again marvel God has called us, called us by name! Redeemed us! We belong to Him!

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. 1 John 3:1

This marveling increases as we look and look again at the specif-ics of this calling. We are called......

called . . . . from what?

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excel-lencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9

called . . . .into what?

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excel-lencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glori-fied. Romans 8:30

Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. Hebrews 9:15

.... including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Ro-mans 1:6-7

called . . . .by what?

To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:14

called . . . .NOT because /because of what?

....... for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but be-cause of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 2 Timothy 1:8-9

called . . . .to what?

Our 2011 theme states “to Live, lead and love.”

Holy Scripture says the same and more, MUCH MORE

For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 1 Thessa-lonians 4:7

Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, con-sider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. Hebrews 3:1-2

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15

Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. 1 Corinthians 7:17 (Vocation)

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21 (Yes, you and I are called to suffer should that be God’s plan for us.)

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a man-ner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, Ephesians 4:1

Called . . . .so what/now what?

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:29

.....and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faith-ful.” Revelation 17:14

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 2 Peter 1:10

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 ESV

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Lord you created me.

Lord you say, “Don’t be afraid.”

Lord you say “I’ve redeemed you.”

Lord you say, “I’ve called you”

You even say, “This is a “by name” calling.”

(Think Holy Baptism)

Lord you say, “I belong to You.”

Lord, May your Holy Spirit, bless me mightily as I regularly hear of your gracious calling.

Only then, will, I Live, Lead and Love in Christ, through Christ and for Christ. Amen

New Year’s Eve Prayer

Dear Lord, where has the time gone? There were times this past year when we wondered whether You were walking with us or not. It appeared that You didn’t really care about us. Forgive us, Lord. You always kept Your promise. You caused all things to work together for our benefit. Please accept our thanks and praise for Your unfailing love to us in Christ Jesus.

Now we beseech You to keep us strong in faith. According to Your will, keep us safe each day. Watch over our family and friends. May Your life-giving Word be proclaimed freely to all peoples of the world. Amen

Naming and praying for...

January 30th

Naming and praying for

......those we name in our hearts.

During the prayer of the church each Sunday we allow time a brief time in worship for private prayer for ......those we name in our hearts.

Within our circles of family, friends and coworkers, we all know, sometimes very intimately, folks who are on our minds and in need of our prayers due to a variety of health, job and other needs. Possibly, but probably not, our fellow congregation mem-bers are unaware of these near and dear ones.

We will be providing an opportunity for you to submit names and prayer requests so that we might publicly name those names and include a petition on their behalf in the prayer of the church. The specified Sunday’s for this are the 5th Sunday of the month. January 2011 has five Sundays so we are asking that you ...So we are asking that you fill out a form provided in the January 23rd bulletin or email by Wednesday morning, January 26th and we will include these petitions on the January 30th wor-ship service.

Prayer Request for Those we name in our hearts
Name/s _______________________________________
Relationship to Immanuel member ___________________
______________________________________________
Prayer concern _________________________________
______________________________________________

Example
Name/s Arlene Brandt and Yasuko Brandt,
Relationship to Immanuel member sister and sister in law of Pastor
Prayer concern who both will be undergoing knee surgery in early January.

2011 Second Plate Mission Offerings

In previous years, the first Sunday of the Month Second Plate Mission Offerings were used for the congregations Mission commitment to Iowa District East. With the building payoff $500 each month from the General Fund is our Mission Commitment to Iowa District East and the LCMS National Budget. So, the Second Plate Mission Offerings are now being designated to those missions we wish to specifically sup-port.

January & February Second Plate offerings for

Camp Iowa DisECa.

The offering will help defray the expenses of a session at camp for Im-manuel’s campers up to a maximum of $50 per camper. (In addition to Camp Scholarships) Camp costs run from $145-$425

The 2011 theme is “Living and Active” based on Hebrews 4:12 The Word of God always accomplishes what it is sent to do.

If there is excess, the gifts will be sent directly to the camp for their current capital campaign. Additional information may be ac-cessed at http://www.campiodiseca.org/Index.htm

March & April Second Plate offerings for

Immanuel members Short Term Mission Trip Expenses

A trip to Hong Kong is in the final planning process for several Imman-uel members. They will be teaching English at the Leung Kui Kau Lu-theran Primary School on June 30th through July 11th. The estimated cost per person is $2,000. More information on their prospective mis-sion is found at....
uploads/mission/service-opps/Short-term%20Hong%20Kong_2011.pdf

Be looking for information regarding the four additional missions that Second Plate Offerings will fund. They will include local needs/ sup-port for a full time missionary, adopt a seminary student and more!

Meet Pastor Tim Zimmermann

Pastor Zimmermann will be leading worship during Pastor Brandt’s recovery following surgery. Pastor Zimmermann served Our Redeemer in Iowa City until retiring this past summer. Tim spent his childhood years in Eldora, Iowa where his father, Rev. John Zimmermann, was pastor and later district President of IDE. Both his father and mother, Mae Etta, were taken into the Lord’s own house during 2010.

Tim is a 1970 graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. His brothers Bruce and Fred (former Immanuel, Grinnell pastor) are also pastors. Additionally a brother in law is a pastor in Louisville, KY. His sister lives in Eldridge, IA.

Pastor’s wife, Carol, is a former English teacher and for many years worked checking ACT essays during their time in Iowa City. The Zimmermann’s are the parents of three children. They live in Milwaukee, Chicago and St. Louis. They are the proud grandparents of five grandchildren.

Last but not least, Pastor Zimmerman is a Minnesota Twins’s fan. Following his able assistance at Immanuel, he and his wife will be taking a trip to Florida, a stop at the Twin’s spring training camp is on the itinerary.
Pastor Zimmermann will be handling Worship Services and Confirmation. He is available in case of pastoral emergencies as well. As soon as recovery permits, Pastor Brandt will be min-istering to the best of his abilities should urgent pastoral care needs arise.

Love Came Down at Christmas

The Children’s Christmas Worship Service

Sunday December 19

at 9:00 a.m.

Refreshments will follow

LWML is collecting Recyclables

Items include: cell phones and PDAs, laser cartridges, inkjet cartridges, lap-tops, iPods, systems/consoles and games, digital cam-eras, movie DVDs, GPS devices, and scientific and graphing calculators. A collection box is located under the mailboxes in the fellowship hall.

WHAT IS AN ADVENT WREATH?

The Advent wreath is one of the most popular symbols used by Christians during the season of Advent. These wreaths, consist-ing of a circle of evergreen branches set around four candles, are used in both churches and Christian homes. The evergreen cir-cle stands for the eternal life that Christ has won for all believ-ers.

The burning candles represent the coming of Christ as the light of the world (John 1:4-9). The colors of the Advent candles can vary. Traditionally, three purple candles and one rose-colored or pink candle are used. The purple signified that Advent is a sea-son of repentance as well as expectation. Purple also has his-torically been the color reserved for royalty. The King of Kings is coming.

Many churches, including Immanuel, use blue candles in place of purple ones to emphasize the hopeful anticipation of the sea-son. We have the sure and certain hope that because Christ has come, and still does come in Word and Sacrament, that He will come again.

Some Christians attach a specific interpretation to the four Ad-vent candles. The first candle (blue) lit is the Prophecy candle. It symbolizes the hope and anticipation of Jesus’ arrival in the flesh. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14; ESV). “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

The second candle (blue) is the Bethlehem Candle. It reminds us that God appeared in the flesh in humble manner, born of a vir-gin, in a stable, in the little town of Bethlehem. “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7)

The third candle (pink or rose) is known as the Shepherds’ can-dle, It represents rejoicing as the faithful have arrived at the mid-point of Advent. The third Sunday in Advent is known as Gau-date, which is Latin for ―rejoice.‖ “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them” (Luke 2:20) The opening word of the Introit for ―Gaudate Sunday‖ is “Rejoice!… the Lord is near.” (Philippians 4:4).

The fourth candle is the Angels’ Candle. This blue candle re-minds us of their announcement of the Good News of Christ’s birth. ―And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, „Glory to God in the high-est, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased‟” (Luke 2:13-14).

The candle in the center, the Christmas candle, reminds us that all our hopes and expectations are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, God in the flesh, who came to deliver His peo-ple from their sins, who continually dwells with His Church and gives us His gifts, and who will come again on the Day of Resur-rection. We use the Advent wreath because it directs our atten-tion to Christ. This candle is lit on Christmas Eve and throughout the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Warning Christmas Ahead (Ignore this warning at your own risk)

It strikes me that this is an appropriate sign for Advent!

We most often encounter warning signs while on the high-way. When one sees a highway warning sign, they should SLOW DOWN! …...PAY CLOSER ATTENTION! ……. BE-WARE OF THE UNEXPECTED! The theme of road con-struction is prominent in the Advent Scriptures. See Isaiah 40:3-5

Warnings regarding our heart health are also prominent. SEEK MEDICIAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY! If you experi-ence the warning signs of a heart attack. Advent is about ―spiritual hearth health. If we highlighted each mention of ―hearts‖ in the Advent hymns we would have highlights on al-most every hymn!

This world is blind to the word …..

WARNING:

The world does not slow down....... if anything the world speeds up as Christmas approaches. The adjective that describes Christ-mas has mutated from ―Merry‖ to ―Hectic.

What about you and I? If we insist on ignoring the Advent warn-ing call........ we put ourselves at risk. Risk of what?

1. Certainly, we won’t know why there needs to be is a Christ-mas.

2. We won’t be prepared. That is our hearts won’t be pre-pared. Please don’t think this is something to add to your ―do do list.‖ Heart preparation is something only our God can do and does accomplish as we hear his word, hear forgiveness of sins announced and we receive the Sacrament.

3. We will miss out the magnitude and intricacies and blessed-ness of the Christmas miracle.

May God’s Holy Spirit working in the Advent message grant us repentance, heart renovation, renewed faith, and eager hope, in-creased peace, overflowing joy!