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Immanuel News & Notes (Christmas 1)

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THIS WEEK AT IMMANUEL

Sunday (12/27)

  • 7:30 am—Divine Service of the Word (On-Line Video)
  • 9:00 am—Divine Service with Holy Communion
  • 10:30 am—Bible Class and Sunday School

Wednesday

  • 12:30 pm—Catechism Class

Thursday

  • 7:00 pm—New Years’ Eve Evening Prayer

Saturday

  • 3:30 pm—Individual Confession and Absolution
  • 5:30 pm—Divine Service with Holy Communion

Sunday (1/3)

  • 7:30 am—Divine Service of the Word (On-Line Video)
  • 9:00 am—Divine Service with Holy Communion
  • 10:30 am—Bible Class and Sunday School

IN OUR PRAYERS

HEALTH CONCERNS: Bernita Ashwill; Connie Bruns (cousin of Mary Appleby); 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); Forrest Harvey (son of John Harvey); Kim Hausman (friend of Ann Carroll); Deanna Henningsen (sister-in-law of Jerry & Joyce Alexander); 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); Tim Pollock; 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); 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 . . . Gen 46: 1–7; 1 Peters 4:12–19; Matthew 2:13–23.

ABOUT THIS WEEK’S READINGS . . A Rod has come forth from the stem of Jesse (Is. 11:1–5)—the Seed of David whose kingdom shall be established forever (2 Sam. 7:1–16). In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son Jesus to redeem us from the judgment of the Law (Gal. 4:1–7). Now He is presented in the temple in fulfillment of the Law and revealed to be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:22–40). Christ has enlightened us in baptism, giving us to be adopted as sons of God and heirs of eternal life. Receiving the Holy Sacrament of His body and blood, we are prepared to depart this world in peace, for our eyes have seen the salvation of God in Him.

THOUGHTS ABOUT STEWARDSHIP . . . Luke 2:39 “And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord. . .” The Law of God is good. Of course, it always shows us our sins: but that is good, too! We need to be driven back to the forgiveness of Christ. But the Law also shows us the truly blessed way to live – as Mary and Joseph found their joy in a godly life, so should we see the Law as a guide for Christian living, as the roadmap for saying thank you to the Lord for all His grace and mercy to us.

THE FLOWERS ON THE ALTAR . . . are given by Ray & Norma Uthe to the glory of God on the occasion of their wedding anniversary.

NEW OFFICER INSTALLATION . . . will be Sunday, January 3, during the Divine Service immediately following the offering. If you are a newly-elected officer, please plan to attend. A reception will be held in the Fellowship Hall following the Divine Service to say thank you to out‑going, current, and in-coming officers. Their hard work and dedication are to be commended!

POINSETTIAS . . . If you did not get your poinsettia after the Christmas Day Divine Service, you will find it in the kitchen on the counter.

PASTOR WILL BE AWAY . . . Monday, January 4, through Wednesday, January 6, to visit family for Christmas. In case of emergency, you may contact Pastor on his mobile phone, or one of the Elders: Jack Appleby, John Harvey, Bryce Reifsteck, Josh Whitson.

WE WILL BE TAKING DOWN . . . the Christmas decorations on Saturday, January 9, 9:00 am.

THE JANUARY CALENDAR . . . with birthdays and anniversaries is available on the table across from members’ mailboxes.

A PRAYER FOR RIGHT RECEPTION OF THE LORD’S SUPPER . . . O Lord, our God, in Holy baptism You have called us to be Christians and granted us the remission of sins. Make us ready to receive the most holy body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of all our sins, and grant us grateful hearts that we may give thanks to You, O Father, to Your Son, and to the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

A PRAYER FOR THANKSGIVING AFTER RECEIVING THE SACRAMENT . . . Blessed Savior, Jesus Christ, You have given Yourself to us in this holy Sacrament. Keep us in Your faith and favor that we may live in You even as You live in us. May Your body and blood preserve us in the true faith to life everlasting. Hear us for the sake of Your name.

UPDATE FROM OUR MISSIONARIES . . . HERE is an update for our missionaries in Sri Lanka, The Naumann Family. And HERE is an update from our missionary in Papua New Guinea, Julie Lutz.

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:

  1. On Immanuel’s Facebook page
  2. On Immanuel’s Website under the Sermons tab
  3. 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!


PRAYER REQUESTS


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