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THIS WEEK AT IMMANUEL

Sunday (9/3)

• 9:00 am—Divine Service with Holy Communion
• 10:30 am—Bible Class
• 12:30 pm—Camp CILCA Dinner & Auction

Wednesday

• 7:00 pm—Bible History Class

Saturday

• 9:00 am—Immanuel Cooking Day
• 3:30 pm—Individual Confession & Absolution
• 5:30 pm—Divine Service with Holy Communion

Sunday (9/10)

• 9:00 am—Divine Service with Holy Communion
• 10:30 am—Bible Class & Sunday School

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IN OUR PRAYERS

THE ANNOUNCEMENTS

NEXT WEEK’S READINGS . . . Proverbs 4:10–23; Galatians 5:16–24; Luke 17:11–19.

ABOUT THIS WEEK’S READINGS . . . The Law cannot help us or give us life. Rather, it confines everyone under sin as wounded and naked before God (Gal. 3:15–22). So it is that two figures of the Law, the priest and the Levite, passed by the injured man on the side of the road (Luke 10:23–37). Only the promised Seed of Abraham can rescue us and make us righteous before God. Only the Samaritan, our Lord Jesus, had compassion. He came down to us in our lost and dying condition, pouring on the oil and wine of the Sacraments. He placed us on His own animal, bearing our sin and brokenness in His body on the cross to restore us. Jesus brought us to the inn, that is, the Church, and gave the innkeeper two denarii, that His double forgiveness might continue to be ministered to us. In this way the Lord, by whose Law we are torn and stricken, heals us and revives us by His Gospel and raises us up with Himself on the third day, that we may live in His sight (Hos. 6:1–6).

THOUGHTS ABOUT STEWARDSHIP . . . Luke 10:25 “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’” That’s just not a good question! Doing and inheriting just don’t go together: what can you do to inherit the English throne? Nothing. Inheriting is about birth right; doing is about merit. We receive eternal life by birth right in our Baptism into Christ. All of our doing in the Kingdom of God flows from this, from who we are by our new birth. It can never be the other way around.

FIRST DAY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL . . . is next Sunday, September 10. The opening begins at 10:20 am in the Sanctuary. Music will be in the choir loft. And then classes in the Sunday School classrooms. The focus of study this year is the New Testament.

WHY? . . . Why do we stand up for the last stanza of some hymns? A good number of our hymns have as a last stanza a Trinitarian doxology. This is an ascription of praise to the Holy Trinity. Doxology comes from two Greek words: doxa, which means “praise,” and logia, which means “words,” hence, “praise words.” A Trinitiarian doxology in simply an ascription of praise to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a custom dating to the early church, when the psalms were sung with a Gloria Patri a their conclusion (as we still do when we sing the psalms). The Gloria Patri (Latin for “Glory be to the Father . . . ,”) is the earliest form of the Trinitarian doxology, and was added to the psalms to indicate that these Old Testament prayers have now been fulfilled in Christ our Lord, who commanded Baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. When Christian hymns began to be written, they were generally seen as psalms in verse, and so the Gloria Patri found its way into their las stanza. Since the Psalmist declares that it is by His name that God saves us (e.g., Ps. 54), it is fitting for Christians to honor the blessed name of the Holy Trinity whenever it is expressed aloud. And so we stand for these stanzas of the hymn. Sometimes if we are already standing, it is appropriate to bow the head during the singing of the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Such bodily involvement in the liturgy is a helpful reminder that in Christ our whole body, mind, and soul are held captive to the Word of God.

PLEASE . . . consider donating to the Immanuel Cooking Fund!  We use the money to purchase ingredients in order to make food for those in our congregation who we are blessing with a warm meal during a difficult time or just to show them we care. There is a box at the back of the church for your donations. Thank you!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS . . . for Saturday, September 9 at 9:00 AM as our next cooking day at Immanuel. Many hands make light work! We use these meals to bless those in our congregation who may need extra love during a difficult time or to show them how much we care as their church family. No need to bring anything, except maybe an apron. If you have questions, please talk to Ann Carroll or Lauren Braaten.

IMMANUEL CHURCH FAMILY PICNIC . . . is scheduled for Sunday, October 1 at 5:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall.  Please join in on the fun and fellowship as we say Hello to fall and enjoy fried fish.  Please bring your favorite dish to share.  Thank you from the Missions and Evangelism Board.

A BIG THANK YOU. . . To all who helped deliver Peace Meals for the month of August.  We couldn’t do it without you volunteers!  It doesn’t take much time out of your day and you meet some nice people – some of which see few people outside of those who deliver their lunch!

CONTRIBUTIONS & ATTENDANCE . . . Total YTD offerings $108,435.24, YTD expenses $121,248.01 through 7/31/2023. Average weekend attendance for July, 61.

DONATION . . . We have been contacted about a Yamaha baby grand piano that someone is looking to rehome. Marilyn Thomas is moving and would like to donate it to someone who is passionate about the instrument and can take proper care of it.  Her email address is marilyn16thomas@gmail.com

THANK YOU . . . to everyone who helped make the 2023 Not Ashamed conference a success. From the parking ambassadors to the set-up and clean-up crews, from the hospitality and welcome ambassadors to all those who brought baked items for breakfast, and to the conference committee (Celeste Nau, Donna Campbell, Dorothy Hostetler, Carol Munson, Terra Waldrop, and Lauren Braaten): Thank you for your diligence, your effort, and your desire to reach out to our community and be encouraged by Pastor Koontz’s presentation. We hosted 105 people from thirty-four different cities in Illinois and five states altogether. We hosted Lutherans, Methodists, Catholics, Baptists, First Christians, and even a few with no church affiliation at all. We received a ton of feedback from those who attended. One person commented on how welcoming our church members were, and that it felt like he was attending something at his home church. Another commented on how generous and organized this conference was. But this comment filled the whole committee with joy: “I will get back to Church to get a sense of belonging again. I have been missing the peacefulness and clarity by staying away from my church family. I need more of a sense of belonging. I have had so many losses of those dear to me and am looking for hope.” As a church enlivened by the Gospel of hope, God did that through us! So thank you all for trusting in the Lord’s word and work and everything you did .

LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD. . . Douglas County Health Department will be having a free laundry event on Thursday, September 14^th from 4-7pm.  Please see bulletin board for detailed information or call 217-253-4131, Ext 1225 and ask for Colleen Lehmann

STUDENT ADOPTION. . . The board has been updated. Please meet our new students.

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CHURCH MEMBER INFORMATION UPDATE

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PRAYER REQUESTS

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