The Trinitarian

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church,

Morrill, Nebraska

April 2022

 

Hasn’t it helped you in your life?” But I’ve based my life and belief around the tomb being empty, so it matters a great deal whether Jesus is raised from the dead or not. Besides, I don’t like being lied to, and I’m sure you don’t either. I wouldn’t want to be taken in by a false story, building my life and value system on something that wasn’t true.

As I said, the man who wrote this was sincere, but the blesséd apostle to the Gentiles, St. Paul, would disagree with those words. In his first letter to the Christians in Corinth, he wrote, “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (I Corinthians 15:12-19).

That spells it out pretty plainly, doesn’t it? To put it bluntly, if the bones of Jesus are in a grave somewhere outside of Jerusalem, then all of this has been a waste of our time. It would mean that Jesus isn’t really the Savior. However—thanks be to God—Jesus really did rise from the dead, proving that He is who He says He is: our Lord and Savior, God the Son, the Second Person of the holy Trinity, and the One who has saved us from sin, death, and the devil, and given us everlasting life. Again, from I Corinthians 15: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.  For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet’” (vv. 20-27).

This world fairly shouts in our ears the idea that nothing really matters, live how you want to live and make up your own rules. But we’re seeing the fruits of this kind of thinking in our world; there’s no doubt that we need a lot more Jesus. But we have His promise—a promise given to you when you were baptized into Christ, and a promise that He will return in glory on the Last Day. With Easter fast approaching, remember that Christ is arisen, indeed—and that He has risen for you. You have His promise on it.

 

 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

LCMS Stewardship Ministry – lcms.org/stewardship
Newsletter Article – April 2022

Blessed Shall You Be

“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.” (Deuteronomy 28:3-6)

 This is God’s promise to the Israelites as they stood beyond the Jordan outside of the Promised Land. He promises blessing to His people. He will make them prosper, whether they are in the city or the field. He will make their fruit of their work to prosper, whether from the ground, their wombs, their flocks, or their herds. He will make them to prosper in all things, whether upon their coming in or their going out.

 But there’s a catch. He would do this for Israel only “if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.” (Deut. 28:2b) If they did that, He would cause that “all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you.” (Deut. 28:2a). If they didn’t obey the voice of the Lord, if they didn’t keep the commandments of the Lord and “walk in his ways” (Deut. 28:9), they would be met with curse and woe. The blessings would be replaced with curses. Everything that the Lord promised to prosper and bless would be cursed and fail.

 

Thanks be to God that our Lord Jesus Christ has come into our flesh and fulfilled the law for us – in our place and for our benefit. Our Lord Jesus Christ died for us – in our place and for our benefit. Our Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead for us – in our place and for our benefit. By this we have justification before God. We are forgiven, clean, holy, and righteous. The blessing of God is promised to us in Christ Jesus. It depends upon his work, not ours.

 All this is ours in Holy Baptism. For in Holy Baptism, God claims us as His own, makes us His children, His heirs, and His holy people. And so it is that the work of our hands and its fruit is holy because we are holy in Christ. It is pressed into His service, and it thereby becomes a blessing to us and to our neighbor.

 For this great gift, our reception of the blessings of God because of Christ Jesus our Lord, it is our duty to thank and praise, serve, and obey Him. This is not in order to receive the blessings but because in Christ we already have. With this in mind, we sit down on the first day of the week and set aside as He has prospered us to give to His church for His work of blessing in our midst (1 Cor. 16:2).

 

– LCMS Stewardship Ministry: lcms.org/stewardship

 

Council Meeting Minutes

Meeting was called to order by Council President Virgil Ritz at 1907. Minutes from February meeting were read and approved. Julie not feeling well so not present at meeting but Treasurer’s report information reviewed by President Ritz and approved. Pastor’s Report: General matters- 1.) Century Business products has submitted a proposal. Kyocera 308ci with 2 drawers would fit our needs pretty well. Purchase price $3,458.57; lease cost $67.44/month, plus maintenance agreement cost (per page) and covers toner, etc. Lengthy discussion regarding purchase versus lease. Council ultimately determined that leasing a printer and making the lease a part of the monthly budget would be the better deal. 2.) Church donation accounting program- Pastor requested a quote from Shepherd’s staff but never heard back from them. No further research done into Wave or ChurchTrac, as he figured we needed to get the sound system problems fixed first and our current ChurchTrac is working okay. 3.) Health Equity HSA has been set up. All funds from Further have been transferred over, however, there have been a number of issues getting payments and transfers done automatically. Concordia Plan Services is working with then on this. Jeff Snyder has said that District will likely have different recommendations for insurance plans for 2023 as Concordia Health Plans makes changes. Upcoming services: Midweek Lenten services on March 23, 30, and April 6. Maundy Thursday on April 14, Good Friday April 15. Easter Sunrise service at 0630 at Faith in Gering with Reverend Grams preaching. The Baptism of Chaisley Powers will take place on Easter Sunday at Trinity Lutheran. Elder’s Report: Don reports that Elders have reviewed the membership role, and have made recommendations which the Council approved, as they have either moved away or are attending a different church: Heidi Wagner (Trauernicht) has rejoined the church by reaffirmation of faith. Trustee’s Report: No one has looked at the living room window of the parsonage yet. The fence still needs to be fixed but the neighbor has dogs that need to be removed or contained before that happens. Pastor will need lawn care this summer. Rudy stated that for $120/month he will take care of the church lawn as well as Pastor’s lawn. Pastor indicated that the lattice AC covers were broken or fallen. Trustees will take a look and see what they can do. New Business: Memorial Committee met in regards to a new sound system for the church. Crossroads Music submitted bids for 2 options. Option 1- 2 large speakers at the front of the church. Speakers are designed so that people in the back of the church can hear as well as those in front. The speakers are 27 inches tall and go to the ceiling. Committee had concerns about how this would sound if the speakers are behind Pastor.

The cost for this option is approximately $8,400. Option 2- 4 recessed speakers in the ceiling for a cost of approximately $8,200. Both speaker options would tie in with the speakers already in place in the Fellowship hall and the Sunday school. The committee felt that the 4 recessed speakers in the ceiling was the best option. There is currently enough money in the various Memorial accounts to cover the cost but it would deplete the fund so will offer the option of special donations to help defray the cost. Trustees will speak to other memorial members to get their approval for use of funds, and plan to reconvene special voters meeting after church service on Sunday March 20th. J. G. Insurance did a walk- through of church and parsonage. Church was fine but they had concerns regarding the tree house at the parsonage. Virgil plans on going to talk to the agent this coming week. If anyone wants to accompany him they are welcome to do so. There were no other issues to discuss. Motion by Gerald and second by Don to adjourn. Meeting was adjourned at 803 and closed with the Lord’s Prayer.

Minutes – Re-convening of Special Voters Assembly March 20, 2022

Assembly called to order at 10:02 by Council President Virgil Ritz. Virgil reported that money from the Randall Ritz Memorial was designated for a new sound system. Gerald reported that Crossroads Music has submitted bids for 2 options for new sound system. He briefly reviewed the 2 options, 1 being 2 large speakers at the front of the church that would go to the ceiling and 2nd option of 4 recessed speakers in the ceiling. He reported that both options would tie into the current speakers in the Fellowship Hall and the Sunday school, and that the Committee feels that the 4 recessed speakers in the ceiling would be the best option. He states that the Committee has spoken to other’s who have memorial money and that they all approved of the use of funds for the sound system, except for one person who has not returned his calls. He states that there is enough money in the Gift and Memorial account to cover the cost but that the sound system would drain the account. Virgil said that contributions to assist with the purchase of a new sound system would be welcome. Rudy made a motion and second by Joyce to approve the purchase of 4 recessed speakers. Motion carried. With no other issues to discuss the meeting was recessed at 10:14.

DATES TO REMEMBER FOR APRIL

April 2                         Madelyn Bowlin                                 Birthday

April 3                         Gerald Ritz                                         Birthday

April 4                         George Ross                                        Birthday

April 8                         Nancy Wohl                                        Baptismal Date

April 9                         Dorothy Holthus                                 Baptismal Date

April 10                       Kenneth Humphrey                             Baptismal Date

April 13                       Jonathan Humphrey                            Baptismal Date

April 16                       Rudy Landreth                                    Birthday

April 17                       Bill & Dee Allen                                 Anniversary

April 17                       Dave Hill                                             Birthday

April 22                       Jace Hendren                                      Birthday

April 23                       Kathryn Haskins                                 Baptismal Date

April 26                       Ella Rose Hendren                              Birthday

April 26                       Roxane Humphrey                              Birthday

April 28                       Melvina Dillman                                 Birthday

April 30                       Elmer & Nancy Wohl                         Anniversary

 

 

If your name does not appear, it is because these were taken from Trinity’s directory for which we have permission to use names and dates.  Please notify the office to have a date added

 

SEASON OF LENT SERVICES

APRIL 3, 2022

9:00 AM MATINS

10:15 BIBLE STUDY/ SUNDAY SCHOOL

 

APRIL 6, 2022

7:00 PM SERVICE OF PRAYER AND PREACHING

 

APRIL 10, 2022

9:00 AM PALM SUNDAY

DIVINE SERVICE 4

10:15 BIBLE STUDY/ SUNDAY SCHOOL

 

APRIL 14, 2022

7:00 PM HOLY THURSDAY DIVINE SERVICE 1

 

APRIL 15 2022

7:00 PM GOOD FRIDAY DIVINE SERVICE 3

 

APRIL 17, 2022

6:30 AM SUNRISE SERVICE ANT FAITH IN GERING

9:00 AM EASTER SUNDAY

DIVINE SERVICE 4

10:15 BIBLE STUDY/ SUNDAY SCHOOL