Give Thanks
I
Thessalonians 5:18: give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Colossians 3:17: And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Psalm 100:3-5: Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
Philippians 4:6: do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Psalm 136:1: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
James 1:17: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Psalm 107:1: Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
Ephesians 5:20: giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
Hebrews 13:15: Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
SC II.1: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my limbs, my reason, and all my senses, and still preserves them; in addition thereto, clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and homestead, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods; that He provides me richly and daily with all that I need to support this body and life, protects me from all danger, and guards me and preserves me from all evil; and all this out of pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all which I owe it to Him to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. This is most certainly true.
LC II.10, 13,16-17: This portrays and sets forth most briefly what is the essence, will, activity, and work of God the Father. For since the Ten Commandments have taught that we are to have not more than one God, the question might be asked, What kind of a person is God? What does He do? How can we praise, or portray and describe Him, that He may be known? Now, that is taught in this and in the following article, so that the Creed is nothing else than the answer and confession of Christians arranged with respect to the First Commandment… But what is the force of this, or what do you mean by these words: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker, etc.? Answer: This is what I mean and believe, that I am a creature of God; that is, that He has given and constantly preserves to me my body, soul, and life, members great and small, all my senses, reason, and understanding, and so on, food and drink, clothing and support, wife and children, domestics, house and home, etc… Thus we learn from this article that none of us has of himself, nor can preserve, his life nor anything that is here enumerated or can be enumerated, however small and unimportant a thing it might be, for all is comprehended in the word Creator. Moreover, we also confess that God the Father has not only given us all that we have and see before our eyes, but daily preserves and defends us against all evil and misfortune, averts all sorts of danger and calamity; and that He does all this out of pure love and goodness, without our merit, as a benevolent Father, who cares for us that no evil befall us.
What does it mean to “give thanks”– to the Lord, or anyone, really? I think we’d agree that in its most basic sense, it’s an acknowledgement that someone outside of us has done something helpful for us. At times we’re tempted to think that everything we’ve accomplished in our lives is due to our own hard work. No doubt we have worked hard to get where we are in life, but did any of us truly do all of that ourselves? Our families have supported us, our neighbors buy our goods or use our intelligence to make their own lives better, as we do with them. As these are first article gifts from God. As Luther once put it, God gives us milk through the hand of the milkmaid.
But we’ve got to take a step back to see where our thanks should truly lie: who has given us the intelligence and strength to perform our jobs? Who has so ordered society that we can get the things we need for daily life and send those things we make or do to those who need them? Can anyone truly claim to be a “self-made man”? As English poet John Donne wrote 450 years ago, none of us an “island unto himself;” all of us depend on one another—and ultimately, all those blessings come from our gracious, giving Lord. Indeed, our Lord is so graciously loving that He sent His only-begotten Son to us so that we would have the joy of being in His presence forever. Therefore, we should at all times give thanks to Him who not only has created us, the world, and everything in it, but He still upholds and sustains His creation. Give thanks to Him for His lovingkindness until that great and glorious day when we see the new creation of the heavens and the earth.
Rev. Kenneth L. Humphrey
LCMS
Stewardship Ministry
Newsletter article
– November 2021
Sometimes
people don’t like it when pastors talk about stewardship. For some, it hits too
close to home. It is easier to talk about bad people in Washington, in history,
or wherever than it is to think about what our daily life in Christ is supposed
to look like and how we are supposed to love our neighbor.
The
fact that we don’t like it certainly means we ought to face it. So, here are a
few simple and practical realities.
God
calls us to first-fruits, sacrificial giving. That means that we should give
off the top. We should set a percentage of our income as a deliberate gift for
the work of the Church and then give that first. We write the check to the
Lord’s work in the Church before we pay the mortgage or pay for our medicine or
pay for anything else. We don’t pay for all the stuff we need – and stuff we
think we need – and then give from what is left over. That is the first-fruits
idea. It is hard because we think we need all sorts of other things first. But
that is the point of “sacrificial.”
Next,
how could the starting point for Christian generosity and sacrifice really be
anything less than a tithe – 10%? The ceremonial law of the Old Testament was
never arbitrary. In the Old Testament, the Levites received this tithe so that
they could be full-time ministers.
Does
the New Testament have a ministry that is larger or smaller? It is far larger:
“Make disci-ples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19). And we are still to have a
full-time ministry: “The Lord has commanded that those who preach the Gospel
should make their living from the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:14). So if 10% is what it
took in the Old Testament, and we have a bigger mission need in the New
Testament, how can we expect the Lord’s work to be done on less than a tithe?
By
first-fruits, sacrificial, and generous giving – that’s how. We shouldn’t fool
ourselves into thinking that we’ve outgiven God’s goodness or that we’ve given
plenty. We might be tempted to think that way, but consider that no one in the
Church has given plenty because no one has given all. No one has died for his
sins. Only the sinless Son of God did that.
St.
Paul brought the Good News of Jesus into the discussion of our giving to
support the Lord’s work in the Church when he wrote: “I say this not as a
command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is
genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was
rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become
rich” (2 Cor. 8:8-9).
As
you can see, what the Bible commands about our stewardship can sting. It’s Law,
and the Law shows our sins. It calls us to repentance. The Law is meant to
expose and accuse for the sake of showing us Christ and His fulfillment of the
Law. So if first-fruits, sacrificial giving has you squirming, that’s the
point.
In
Mark’s account of the feeding of the 4,000, Jesus took the disciples’ seven
loaves and blessed them. It was nothing among so many, but, of course, it was
plenty. Jesus makes something from nothing. Mark doesn’t say that all the
disciples gave Jesus all the bread they had. It is quite pos-sible that some of
them held something back. But even if they did, that didn’t stop Jesus from
blessing them. Jesus makes something out of nothing. He, who fed His people in
the desert with Manna every morning, doesn’t need their bread.
But
they need to give it. And what they give – however little it might be and
however grudgingly they do so – He blesses. He not only blesses those whom He
feeds with it, but He blesses them – the givers. He blesses the givers not just
in that they wind up with a basketful for each loaf, but they are blessed by learning
to trust and rejoice in Him.
The
Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. The Lord gives abundantly, or He asks us
to fast. We do not know what will happen. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. He
does all things well, and He works all things together for good. The disciples
don’t give their bread to Jesus because it is a good investment. They give it
because He is good, because they love Him, and because they trust Him. Let us
go and do likewise.
My Community “...REMEMBERING YOU IN MY
PRAYERS…” (Eph. 1:16) For Rev. Ralph Jaeger (emeritus, Laramie), health For
Rev. Michael and Jennifer Wittrock (emeritus) with health needs. For Rev. David
Caspersen (emeritus, Cheyenne) as he recovers from heart surgery. For our
active-duty chaplains, Rev. Lynn Christensen (Japan), Rev. Ryan Mills
(Colorado), Rev. Scott Shields (Alaska); and national guard chaplain Rev.
Gerald Heinecke (Prince of Peace, Buffalo). PASTORS AND CONGREGATIONS St.
Paul’s, Sidney is being served by Rev. Ted Bourret (St. Paul’s, Potter and
Salem, Gurley). Rev. Travis Sherman (Grace, Gordon) is serving Grace, Merriman,
NE (Nebraska District) while it considers its future. Rev. Noah Fremer (Bethel,
Lander) received and returned a divine call to St. John, Garner, IA. Rev. Neil
Carlson (Zion, Chappell and Trinity, South Divide) is considering a divine call
to Our Redeemer, Immanuel, and St. John’s Lutheran Churches in Herington, KS.
Here I Stand: Godly Virtues Every community needs
its illustrious men and women, its paragons of virtue. We uphold George
Washington for his honesty and Abraham Lincoln for his leadership in adversity.
Good histories and good literature are full of such examples. We Christians
especially seek to emulate virtues of the saints of old: Abraham’s faith when
all evidence seemed to deny God’s promise. The humility and obedience of Moses
and the Virgin Mary. The loyalty of the Moabitess Ruth to Naomi and the true
God. David’s courage and prowess in battle against Goliath. The wisdom of
Solomon. The purity and self-sacrifice of Esther. The love of Jesus for
sinners. What is virtue? Virtue is moral excellence. It refers to a person’s
character and goodness. From ancient times it referred especially to manliness
and courage. It is not simply a disposition of heart and mind, but also of body
and soul. Virtue refers to the habits of our emotions and thoughts. It refers
to the internal and physical readiness to do what is right. It is expressed in
our actions, in the conduct of our lives. Even the ancient pagan world
understood that virtue is indispensable for human life and community. We still
read the ancient classics because they can teach us much of what the ancient
sages learned about virtue from reason and experience. They enumerated four
natural virtues: prudence (practical wisdom), fortitude (courage when afraid),
temperance (self-control), and justice (the application of divine law).
Christians recognized the truthfulness of this list and added three more
directly from the Bible: faith, hope, and love. The Bible is, among other
things, a book of virtues. From the historical books to the Psalms and
Proverbs, from prophets to epistles, the Bible shows us men and women of faith,
both in their vices and sins, and in their faith and godly virtues. God’s Word
teaches us that although outward virtues often obtain blessings for self and
for the neighbor, they cannot merit favor with God. Only Christ has obtained
this favor, or grace, before God. Nevertheless, God commands us Christians to
be virtuous in heart and mind, body and soul, and in all the conduct of our
lives. The absence of godly virtues leads to sorrow and loss, sin and death.
Active and fruitful virtues in Christians, however, bring countless blessings
to others, to home and church and community. This is what the Holy Spirit means
in 2 Peter 1:5–8: “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your
faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control,
and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and
godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if
these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being
ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And how
do we supplement our faith with virtue? How do we impart to our children these
precious virtues in heart and life? Peter directs us first to the Christ (2
Peter 1:3–4): “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to
life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory
and virtue, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises,
so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” The
Holy Spirit gives another list of virtues in Philippians 4:8–9, where He then
teaches us to learn these virtues first by observing them in the Apostle Paul
and others (including good history and literature!), by occupying our hearts
and minds with them, and then by practicing and doing them. “Finally, brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any virtue, if there
is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned
and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of
peace will be with you.” God grant you faith, fruitful virtues, and in the end,
eternal life
REFORMATION 500 Reformation means change,
change from errant teaching to true doctrine, change from errant practices to
purified liturgy and church customs that better reflect the Scriptures. Such
change is hard, as we all know. And no area of the church’s life sees more
difficulty than the Lord’s Supper, where the entire work of Christ is
concentrated and delivered to us in Christ’s body and blood, given into our
mouths to eat and drink. Luther’s theological writings of 1520 had critically
examined the sacraments, especially the Lord’s Supper. While he was at the
Wartburg some of his colleagues in Wittenberg and elsewhere began to make
changes in their congregational worship. They proposed to give both kinds (body
and blood) to the congregation, rather than reserving Christ’s blood for the
priest alone. They sought to do away with the theory of transubstantiation, the
false teaching that the bread and wine no long remain in the Lord’s Supper. But
at the heart of the Roman Catholic error on the Lord’s Supper—and at the heart
of their ministry and their Christian piety—was the blasphemous teaching on the
sacrifice of the mass. They taught that their pastors were the priests of God
who offered the Lord’s Supper to God as a sacrifice to reconcile the church to Him.
This teaching blasphemously denied the atonement of Christ, denied Christ’s
Words of Institution, and instituted new laws and practices contrary to Holy
Scriptures. In November 1521 Luther wrote against this error, first in Latin,
then in German. In Misuse of the Mass (AE 36.133–230) Luther began by teaching
that Scripture alone is the source of our doctrine. “The holy sacraments and
articles of faith rightly demand that they be founded and preserved only
through the divine Scriptures” (135), and “the Scriptures cannot err” (137). He
especially rejected the idea of allowing the church to have authority over
Scriptures, It is not God’s Word just because the church speaks it; rather, the
church comes into being because God’s Word is spoken. The church does not
constitute the Word, but is constituted by the Word. A sure sign, by which we
may know where the church is, is the Word of God. (144f) The main part of the
treatise has three parts. In the first, he corrects the idea of a special
priesthood of the ministry and teaches that every Christian is a priest because
of Christ. “We have only one single priest, Christ, who has sacrificed himself
for us and all of us with him. This is a spiritual priesthood, held in common
by all Christians, through which we are all priests with Christ” (138). The
pastor does not differ from laymen except in regard to “a different office
which is entrusted to him, namely, to preach the Word of God and to administer
the sacraments” (159). In the second part Luther examines the Words of
Institution of the Lord’s Supper word by word, phrase by phrase, to show that
it cannot be a sacrifice done by man for reconciliation with God. “To make a
sacrifice of the sacrament . . . is to change completely its nature and
character” (168). He also shows the role of faith in Lord’s Supper: Here you
see clearly that no work of satisfaction or sacrifice of reconciliation is of
any use; only faith in the given body and the shed blood reconciles. Not that
faith does the reconciling in and of itself, but it lays hold on and obtains
the reconciliation which Christ has performed for us. (177) In fact, Luther
teaches that the Lord’s Supper is the Gospel! For if you ask: What is the
Gospel? you can give no better answer than these words of the New Testament, namely,
that Christ gave his body and poured out his blood for us for the forgiveness
of sins. This alone is to be preached to Christians, instilled into their
hearts, and at all times faithfully commended to their memories. (183) In the
third part Luther contrasts the true priesthood of every Christian with the
laws and teachings that arise from the papal false priesthood. He shows,
commandment by commandment, that the pope’s priesthood contradicts each of the
10 Commandments. He concludes by comparing the errors of the papal mass and
priesthood to events and persons in Scripture.
FUTURE
DATES (see wylcms.org for information)
Nov. 12-14: Youth
Breakaway, St. Andrew’s, Laramie
Nov. 28: Panhandle
Youth Gathering, 3:00 PM, Immanuel, Alliance
Dec. 27-28: Youth
Retreat, St. Paul, Thermopolis
Feb. 11-12: TTGNAJ
Convocation, Ramkota, Casper (registration materials will be available in the
December edition of the District Roundup)
THE NEXT ROUNDUP The next Round The next
Roundup will be delivered to congregations around November 20 (December 2021
issue).. .
October 21, 2021
Voters’ Meeting
The
October Annual Voters’ Meeting was called to order by President Virgil Ritz.
Pastor Humphrey read an opening devotion from Mathew chapter 15. The minutes from the July Quarterly meeting were
read and approved. The Treasurer’s Report was read and approved. .
Pastor’s
Report: Pastor Humphrey reports he has
heard back from the Wyoming District Board of Directors, and they have approved
the changes to Trinity’s Constitution. Changes were limited to clarification
and streamlining of duties and boards, and removal of term limits. He reports
that the district is recommending that he stay on the same health plan for next
year, though more changes are expected in 2023. Pastor reports he has looked in
to Tithly, for online contributions and has found that it will cost 2-3% of
contributions received through Tithly. He will do more checking to see if it is
a viable option for Trinity. Pastor Humphrey reports that Luther Classical
College is a new endeavor by the Wyoming District following the “classical
education model.” It will be built on land next to Mount Hope, with a planned
opening in 2025. No monies from the district are being spent, though they are
seeking/asking for support from individuals and congregations who wish to
support them. Pastor further reports that the fall Pastors’ and Teachers’
conference took place in Casper earlier this month. He reports the Panhandle
Lutheran Family Gathering is being held monthly at Immanuel Lutheran in
Alliance. All are encouraged to attend if they can make it. Lastly he reports
that Trinity will be hosting the next Pine Ridge/Chimney Rock Winkel on Tuesday
November 9th at 10a.m.
Elders’
Report: Don reports that Becky Turner
(McIntosh) has requested a transfer to Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Norfolk,
NE. A motion was made by Don and
seconded by Karen to approve the transfer. The motion carried.
Trustees’
Report: No news to report;
Sunday
School Report: Melvina Reports that VBS was a success, with about 25 children
attending. She reports that the Sunday School is going to try a short Christmas
Program on 12/19.
Old
Business: A motion to approve the
constitutional changes was made by Don Bowlin and Seconded by Gerald Ritz. The
motion carried. (Updated Constitutions are available up on request).
New
Business: A discussion was held
regarding cost of handouts for the 75th Anniversary. The cost of
each handout was approximately $5 and a suggestion was made to have a free will
donation plate available for those who wished to help cover the cost of the
program/handout. The nominating
committee put forth the following list for 2022 officers: President Vergil
Ritz; Recording Secretary John “Wes” Bowlin; Finance Secretary OPEN; Finance
Board Karen Ritz, Gerald Ritz, Julie Alkire, OPEN; Treasurer Julie Alkire;
Elders Don Bowlin, Keith Kaufman, OPEN; Trustees Rudy Landreth, Jim Swenson,
and Gerald Ritz; Sunday School Superintendent Melvina Dillman; A motion was made by Don and seconded by
Susan to accept the slate of officers as presented and to try and continue to
fill the OPEN spots in the coming weeks. The motion carried.
A
motion was made by Gerald and seconded by Keith to keep the pastoral salary the
same for 2022 as it is for 2021. The motion carried. A budget of $116,750.00
was proposed following some discussion. A motion was made by Elmer and seconded
by Don to accept the proposed budget (see handout). The motion carried.
A
motion was made by Susan and seconded by Keith to place Elmer Wohl as the
fourth member of the finance board. The motion carried.
With
no further business to address, a motion was made by Don and seconded by Gerald
to adjourn the meeting. The motion
carried. The meeting closed with the Lord’s Prayer.
John
Bowlin, Secretary
I
would like to personally thank all those who made our 75th
Anniversary and Thank Offering a huge success.
The
Anniversary committee members:
Dee
Allen for planning the dinner and providing the meat.
Zandee
Hendren for putting together the brochure.
Gerald
Ritz for compiling the church history.
Janet
Ewald for the flowers, and along with Kari Reimers for the beautiful music.
Susan
Williams for directing the choir, and with Gary for purchasing the cake.
Pat
Klingsporn for assisting with the dinner.
Joyce
Warnke for her help.
Elmer
Wohl for his help.
Pastor
Humphrey for Pastoral support.
Melvina
Dillman for opening her home to Pastor and Doni Good.
Thanks
to everyone who brought covered dishes, the meal was wonderful.
God
truly blessed us with a beautiful day and for the the generous outpouring of
support for our Thank Offering.
God Bless You All,
Virgil Ritz,
Chairman
Thanksgiving
Eve Vespers Service will be held on November 24th at 7:00PM.
Invite
friends, neighbors, and relatives to join us!.
