THIS WEEK AT IMMANUEL
Sunday (12/6)
- 7:30 am—Divine Service of the Word (On-Line Video)
- 9:00 am—Divine Service with Holy Communion
- 10:30 am—Adult Bible Class & Sunday School
- 5:00 pm—Church-wide Live Nativity (Ervin Park)
Wednesday
- 12:30 pm—NO Catechism Class
- 7:00 pm—Advent Midweek Service (Online only)
Saturday
- 3:30 pm—Individual Confession and Absolution
- 5:30 pm—Divine Service without Holy Communion
Sunday (12/13)
- 7:30 am—Divine Service of the Word (On-Line Video)
- 9:00 am—Divine Service without Holy Communion
- 10:30 am—Adult Bible Class & Sunday School
- 6:00 pm—Sunday School Christmas Service
IN OUR PRAYERS
HEALTH CONCERNS: Bernita Ashwill; Connie Bruns (cousin of Mary Appleby); Bill Cornwell (friend of Celeste Nau); Lynn Corrie (friend of Arleigh Jones); Ellie Crawford (daughter of Laran Crawford); Whitney Czerwonka; Lynn Davis (cousin of Mark Whitson); Cindy Ekstrom; Theresa Fields; Darrell Ford; Lisa Hall (sister of Holly Wikoff); Rick Hardesty (family of the Hoels); Kim Hausman (friend of Ann Carroll); Deanna Henningsen (sister-in-law of Jerry & Joyce Alexander); Clinton & Sharon Johnson (friend of Glenda Rahn); Glenn Linstead; Mary Miller (friend of David Holzrichter); Kimberly Mulvany (daughter of Pastor Doug Meyer); Mary Negangard (grandmother of Bryce Reifsteck); Dennis Pickett (friend of Ann Carroll); Misti Post (niece of Sue Rothe); Cary & Beth Rahn; Joan Rahn; Aurelia Tuegal (grandmother of Bethany Campbell); Emma Silver; Dave Slaughter; Ocil Slone (grandfather of Josh & Jake Dyer); Joy Stenger; Carolyn Stremming (sister-in-law of Arleigh Jones); Janet Stumeier; Brian Walker (uncle of Bryce Reifsteck); Lynn & Jane Whitson (parents of Mark Whitson).
SEMINARY STUDENT: Gunnar Campbell; Logan Smith.
DEACONESS STUDENT: Emily McLean.
MISSIONARIES: The Naumann Family; The McDermott Family, Julie Lutz
HOMEBOUND: Bernita Ashwill; Leonard Boerngen; Jim Harbaugh; Janet Pollock; Ruth Rentschler; Ruth Sims; Irene Wattjes.
MILITARY: Carl Crawford; Josh Dyer; Jeremy Gordon; Jack Leonard; Jake Lindgren; Raymond Longtin; Joey Pollock; Blake Stokes; Ruben Wilson.
THE ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEXT WEEK’S READINGS . . . Isaiah 40:1–8; 1 Corinthians 4:1–5; Matthew 11:2–10.
ABOUT THIS WEEK’S READINGS . . . The day on which our Lord returns will be a “great and awesome day” (Mal. 4:5). For He will come in a cloud with great power and glory. To the wicked and the proud, it will be a Day of judgment that will “set them ablaze” (Mal. 4:1). The signs preceding this Day will bring them fear and fainting. But to those who believe, who fear the name of the Lord, this Day is one to look forward to and rejoice in: “. . . straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). Christ our Redeemer is coming; the Sun of Righteousness will bring healing in His wings. Let us, then, give attention to the words of the Lord, which do not pass away. Let us “through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures” (Rom. 15:4) be strengthened in our hope by the Holy Spirit and watch diligently for Jesus’ coming. Then, by God’s grace, we shall escape all these things that will come to pass and stand before the Son of Man.
THOUGHTS ABOUT STEWARDSHIP . . . Romans 15:4 “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction.” God’s Word was given to us to bless us. The Bible warns us of our sin and points us to Christ for our salvation. The Bible also instructs us as to how to live out our Christians lives—this is the “third use of the Law.” As Christians we should welcome this instruction in humble faith.
REMINDER: IMMANUEL BOARDS MEET . . . on Monday, December 14. If you have not done so already, please submit your 2021 budget request to the church office as soon as possible following your board meeting.
THE NEXT VOTERS’ ASSEMBLY MEETING . . . is Monday, December 21, 7:30 pm. Please submit Voters’ meeting material to the church office by Wednesday, December 16.
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS SERVICE . . . will be Sunday, December 13. The service is at 6:00 pm, followed by refreshments hosted by the Board of Education. Join us for a Christmas Service where our children will remind us of the real reason for the season with all your favorite Christmas hymns and then food and fellowship.
POINSETTIA ORDER FORMS . . . are available in the Narthex. Please complete and return them by next Sunday, December 13. Poinsettias are $12.00 this year and can be taken and enjoyed at home immediately following the Christmas Day service.
PASTOR WILL BE AWAY . . . Tuesday, December 8–Friday, December 11, at Mayo in Rochester for follow-up appointments for Lauren. In case of emergency, you can reach Pastor on his mobile phone.
CHRISTMAS CARDS FOR SEMINARY STUDENTS . . . If you’d like to send Christmas greetings to our seminary students, their addresses are: Mr. Gunnar Campbell; Mr. Logan Smith, and Mrs. Emily McLean, at: 6600 North Clinton Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 46825-4996.
UPCOMING SPECIAL SERVICES AND EVENTS
- Sunday, December 6 5:00 pm Church-wide Live Nativity (Ervin Park)
- Wednesday, December 9 7:00 pm Advent Midweek Service
- Sunday, December 13 10:20 am Sunday School Christmas Service practice
- Wednesday, December 16 7:00 pm Advent Midweek Service
- Sunday, December 20 10:20 am Sunday School Christmas Service practice
- 6:00 pm Sunday School Christmas Service
- Monday, December 21 7:30 pm Voter’s Budget Meeting
- Thursday, December 24 7:00 pm Christmas Eve Service with Communion
- Friday, December 25 9:00 am Christmas Day Service with Communion
- Thursday, December 31 7:00 pm New Year’s Eve Evening Prayer
HOLY COMMUNION . . . The offer still stands, during the pandemic, that if you desire the Holy Communion, you can make an appointment with Pastor to receive the Lord’s Supper either at church or in your home until services resume.
SERVICES ONLINE . . . A copy of the service bulletin, which includes all the responses and the hymns, is available at Immanuel’s website under the Sermons tab by clicking on the button labeled PDF. This video option will continue to be made available until our usual service times resume. You can access these online services in three places:
- On Immanuel’s Facebook page
- On Immanuel’s Website under the Sermons tab
- On Immanuel’s YouTube channel
CHANGES IN MANDATED REPORTER LAW . . . The state of Illinois recently made significant changes to the mandated reporter law. By law, any person affiliated with the church who, in their role, comes into contact with children, either in a paid position or as a volunteer, is now a mandated reporter. Mandated reporters are required to call the DCFS Hotline when they have reasonable cause to believe that a child known to them in their professional or official capacity may be an abused or neglected child. As such, s/he must undergo training within three months of first serving. This is only a training session not a background check. This new law would include the following at Immanuel: all Sunday School teachers, VBS volunteers, youth group chaperones, and those on Altar Guild who work with the Jr. Altar Guild. To that end, we ask that those individuals in the groups listed, follow THIS LINK to take the online training. This training takes roughly 60 minutes to complete. Upon completion of the training, a certificate is awarded which will need to be printed off and a copy be given to Pastor to keep on file. For those who are unable to access this online training at home, time will be available for you to complete this in the church office. Please find time to complete the online training as soon as possible. While we understand that this may be a burden for some, please know that we are willing to help you get the necessary training so that we as a church are compliant with this new law. If you have any questions or concerns, please talk with one of the members of the Board of Christian Education or Pastor. Thank you!
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