News and Announcements Christ Lutheran Church Eagan
October 29, 2017
Verse of the Week: Romans 3:28
Not what these hands have done Can save this guilty soul; Not what this toiling flesh has borne Can make my spirit whole. Not what I feel or do Can give me peace with God; Not all my prayers and sighs and tears Can bear my awful load. Thy work alone, O Christ, Can ease this weight of sin; Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, Can give me peace within. Thy love to me, O God, Not mine, O Lord, to Thee, Can rid me of this dark unrest And set my spirit free. Thy grace alone, O God, To me can pardon speak; Thy power alone, O Son of God, Can this sore bondage break. I bless the Christ of God, I rest on love divine, And with unfaltering lip and heart I call this Savior mine. LSB 567: Text (sts. 1–6) and Music: Public domain Created by Lutheran Service Builder Š 2006 Concordia Publishing House.
This weekend we celebrate the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation with a special worship service both Saturday evening and Sunday morning. After worship, we will have a Reformation fellowship with German snacks and special activities related to the Reformation. Please join us!
October is Pastor Appreciation Month Be sure to let Pastor Hahn know how much you appreciate his ministry!
Stewardship Emphasis – Faith Promise Sheets After hearing the messages on The Gift that Keeps on Giving, it’s time to return the Faith Promise sheets that have been mailed to members of the church on November 4th and 5th. Please prayerfully consider how you can help the work of Christ Lutheran Church! The Board of Human Care is updating their records of Veterans in our congregation. If you are a Veteran or know of a member who is a Veteran, we ask that you make sure the name is on the Veterans list found on the bulletin board located in the hallway leading to the Fellowship Hall. If the name isn't on there, please call the church office by November 1st so it can be added. Thank You!
The Fall Red Cross Blood Drive will be Thursday, November 9th, 12:00 – 6:00 PM. A sign-up sheet are in the Narthex.
Help the Minnesota South District pack 750,000 meals and feed 2,000+ children for one year! Christ Lutheran is scheduled to work on Saturday, November 11, 2017 9:00 – 11:00 am At the Ganglehoff Center, 235 Hamline Ave. Concordia University, St. Paul Sign-up sheet in the narthex! Contact Human Care Board members Joyce Swedean, Eileen or Glenn Gregory for more information. The Altar Guild will be meeting on Thursday, November 9th, at 5:00 pm at the Perkins in Eagan. All are welcome! Please join us. We could use more members to help us serve the church in this important way!
“An American Portrait” – A Concert by Bells of the Lakes and the St. Olaf Handbell Ensemble Saturday, November 4th, 2017 at 7:30pm At Concordia - St. Paul’s Buetow Auditorium This is a remarkable combined concert featuring Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait,” performed by: Bells of the Lakes, St. Olaf Handbell Ensemble, and St. Olaf String Ensemble, with guest narrator Dr. Tom Ries from Concordia. Tickets are available online (www.BellsoftheLakes.org) Adults $25, Groups (10+) $15 each, Students/Seniors $15
Reformation 500 Worship Service at Concordia University Sunday afternoon! October 29 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Reformation 500 weekend will be highlighted by a worship service in the Gangelhoff Center on Sunday, Oct. 29. The worship service will include a sermon from LCMS President Matthew Harrison, performances from mass youth and adult choirs (including members of our own choir), instrumental ensembles, and more.
Preschool Book Fair Sunday, Nov. 5 - Tuesday, Nov. 7 (Will be set up after church on Sunday.)
Books delivered before Christmas! Once $250.00 worth of books has been purchased, the preschool will earn 50% of the money back in books. This is a great way to increase our library resources. Online orders accepted one week after the fair. (More information in the November newsletter.)
Our Gifts to the Lord Oct 21-22 General Fund Oct 16-20 Joyful Response Total
Attendance $3527.00 $ 875.00 $4402.00
Saturday, October 21 Sunday, October 22 Total
20 79 99
The Ninety-five Theses All this Reformation talk about those Ninety-Five Theses! What is that all about? October 31, 1517, is the day that Luther made these public by nailing them to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, sort of a public bulletin board for the community of that day. If you want to know what all of these say, you can look it up on the internet and read them all. But the reason it was such a big deal is that Martin Luther was standing up to the Pope, who was a very powerful person throughout Europe at the time. He didn’t want to start a new church; he just wanted the Catholic Church to get back to what Scripture teaches. At that time, it had gone far away from that. Here’s a summary of what those 95 statements were about, taken from Wikipedia. (Maybe not the best theological source, but it is a good summary.) The Ninety-five Theses or Disputation on the Power of Indulgences are a list of propositions for an academic disputation written in 1517 by Martin Luther, professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg, Germany, that started the Reformation, a schism in the Catholic Church which profoundly changed Europe. They advance Luther's positions against what he saw as abusive practices by preachers selling plenary indulgences, which were certificates believed to reduce the temporal punishment for sins committed by the purchasers themselves or their loved ones in purgatory. In the Theses, Luther claimed that the repentance required by Christ in order for sins to be forgiven involves inner spiritual repentance rather than merely external sacramental confession. He argued that indulgences led Christians to avoid true repentance and sorrow for sin, believing that they can forgo it by purchasing an indulgence. They also, according to Luther, discourage Christians from giving to the poor and performing other acts of mercy, believing that indulgence certificates were more spiritually valuable. Though Luther claimed that his positions on indulgences accorded with those of the pope, the Theses challenged a fourteenth-century papal bull (or edict) stating that the pope could use the treasury of merit and the good deeds of past saints to forgive temporal punishment for sins. The Theses are framed as propositions to be argued in debate rather than necessarily representing Luther's opinions, but Luther later clarified his views in the Explanations of the Disputation Concerning the Value of Indulgences.
The doors of the Castle Church in Wittenburg are made of metal now, and the 95 Theses have been inscribed in German on the doors. The picture to the right is a close-up of the writing.