Devotional Thoughts...

...On the 50th Anniversary of the Church of the Lutheran Confession

“I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.”

Psalm 89:1

50 years…that is a relatively short period of time, if you think about it. That is especially true when it is compared to the entire history of our world. Adam, after all, is reported by Moses to have lived to the ripe old age of 930 years (cf. Genesis 5:5). The children of Israel lived in Egypt for 430 years (cf. Exodus 12:40). The United Kingdom under the leadership of Saul, David, and Solomon lasted 120 years. Why even the Babylonian Captivity lasted 70 years. Yes, in many ways, 50 years is a relatively short period of time!

On the other hand, 50 years is a relatively long period of time. For individuals a 50^th birthday is celebrated with black because that individual is now “old!” For married couples a 50^th anniversary is celebrated with gold because it is relatively rare for couples to live together that long. For a child of five years of age, 50 years appears to be forever!

How should we view the 50^th anniversary of the Church of the Lutheran Confession[CLC]? There are other church bodies which have been in existence for a much longer time. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod [LCMS] celebrated its 160^th anniversary three years ago. On the other hand, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [ELCA] is but a mere 22 years old. How should we view this anniversary? I suggest that we do so with praise on our lips and thankfulness within our hearts! With the Psalmist let us “sing of the mercies of the Lord forever” and let us “make known…[the Lord’s] faithfulness to all generations!”

For 50 years the precious Gospel message of God’s forgiving love has been proclaimed from the pulpits of our various congregations and within the classrooms of our parochial grade schools, our high school here in Mankato, and our Immanuel Lutheran College in Eau Claire. For 50 years God has faithfully preserved our synod during times of doctrinal controversy and occasional economic hard times. He has provided us with faithful pastors and teachers and preserved us from those who have been less so, all along allowing us to educate and train new generations of faithful laymen. He has given us opportunities to share His truth with others in cities like Chicago, Tacoma, and Los Angeles, and to partner with fellow believers in foreign countries as far away as Nigeria, Tanzania, India, and Nepal. He has enabled us to build churches and classrooms, orphanages and preaching stations. He has moved young and old alike to dedicate their time and talents to mission work as well as maintenance projects. Truly, the LORD has been good to us!

2010 is the 50^th anniversary of the Church of the Lutheran Confession. We will sing of the Lord’s mercies and thank Him for His faithfulness in a special worship service held in our Immanuel sanctuary at our regular worship time of 9:30 a.m. on May 16^th. I invite you all to come and join us in this special celebration as we rejoice in the ongoing and ever-present grace of our Savior God!

— Pastor Paul D. Nolting

Under the direction of the 2008 CLC Convention, a year-long “Jubilee Thank Offering” is being collected from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010.

• The funds from this offering will be used to fund the CLC 50th anniversary celebration expenses.
• After the celebration expenses are met the “Jubilee Thank Offering” funds will be applied to the Student Aid Fund Endowment Fund.
• Special offering envelopes have been printed. One is included in this issue of the Immanuel Home Messenger.

If you desire to contribute toward this fund without an envelope, simply mark your offering “Jubilee Thank Offering” or “CLC 50^th”.

May our Great God continue to bless us through His Word and by His presence among us. May He make this celebration acceptable just as He has made us acceptable – by His Son, Jesus Christ.

Christian Marriage

That’s What He Meant

Great expectations: God makes terrific marriages

Whether you are someone for whom marriage might yet lie in the future, or one of several Immanuel members being married this year, or currently married, or one who reflects on the gift God gave you in your marriage while your spouse was still living, spending time on God’s counsel regarding marriage is valuable to us all. In this and future Home Messengers, we hope to regularly dedicate space to this important topic.

With the marriage three weeks ago of the last of my five daughters, I hope I've earned the right to repeat in this space some observations I first made much earlier in the process.

At the wedding, I shed a few tears—but found no deep regrets or worrisome apprehensions. Am I a dreamer? Is it foolish in today's context not to be paralyzed by the prospect of failure in marriage?

Why have our expectations been so radically lowered that we're scared, when we meet someone we haven't seen for 10 years, to ask how the family is doing?

It's partly because we've also forgotten what high expectations God has of marriage. Yet that's why when I kissed my daughter goodbye a few days ago, it was with much more joy than fear. I think she and her husband have an exciting glimpse of the prospects God has put before them.

My own first serious thoughts about marriage came in the late 1950s. In spite of the fact that in my parents I witnessed a marriage that was both solid and romantic, I recall getting a strangely discomfiting message from other sources during my late adolescence. "Marriage is OK," I heard. "But don't expect too much from it. It's hardly designed to put you in orbit."

I heard such cautions from several sophisticates who thought they were doing me a favor. They didn't want to set me up for a fall. They didn't want me to go off dreamy-eyed into the land of matrimony with all its traps and pitfalls. They meant well—but I came to resent what they said.

For when I did marry and then discovered those flat spots every married person encounters, my instinctive response was to say, "Oh, this is what they meant. This is why the veterans said, 'Don't expect overly much. It's OK—but don't expect heaven on earth.'"

So I didn't—and that was a poisonous concession. Satan has wicked tricks to play on people who get close to God's good blessings. When a young couple tastes the excitement of a good marriage, Satan goes all out to spoil the fun. He takes advantage of the low spots, taunting the unwary with half-truths. "Did you really think you deserved better than this? Do you really think God owes you perfection?"

Precisely because those accusations are almost true, we fall then for Satan's bigger and terribly destructive lie: "This is as good as it gets," he says, blunting God's great promises. We swallow seeds that lead first to skepticism, then to distant coldness, then to alienation and separation, and too often to divorce itself. For it's not a very big jump from "What did you expect?" to "What's the use?" Condemning ourselves—and too often seeing very few good marriages around us to cheer us on—we settle back in resignation, numbed with the discouraging recollection, "So this is what they meant."

The problem with the lower "realistic" standard is that pretty soon people buy into it. The lowered standard becomes what everyone starts shooting for—and then they start missing even that. The disintegration of what we used to call normal becomes predictable.

But that's not what God had in mind when He designed marriage. Hope rises against all that gloom because of our conviction, as Christians, that God did intend marriage to send people into orbit. He specifically meant it to provide a taste of heaven on earth. Marriage, after all, is His own carefully drawn picture of the relationship He wants to have with us. If that discovery comes a little late for some of us laggards, let's at least ensure that it comes early for our children. Let's stress to them that God means marriage to be the most elegant and satisfying expression of all possible relationships between people—and that if it's less, they've diminished God's glory and shortchanged their own pleasure and delight. Let's stress those truths both by honest precept and by modeling believable excitement in our own marriages.

It takes work, of course, and that's part of the problem. In this era of instant happiness, we tend to forget that those endeavors that bring the greatest joys usually also require the most excruciating endeavor.

I wish that a couple of weeks ago I could have passed on to my daughter and her husband as a wedding gift a society where the threats to a happy and enduring marriage are smaller than they were a generation ago. But, of course, I couldn't.

Failing that, however, I've determined to raise the standard high and to tell my children plainly: "God made marriage good. No, that's not emphatic enough. He made marriage much better than good. He made it to be terrific. And don't ever let our blurring of the picture, or your own self-doubts, keep you from discovering that for yourselves. Whenever God's promises are involved, it's worth a whole lifetime of hard work."

And then I pray that someday, they'll sit back in their own delight and say, "Oh, that's what he meant."

Reprinted by Permission
Joel Belz
World Magazine—July 27, 2002
Asheville, NC
www.worldmag.com

Christian Marriage

A Work in Progress

Note: Due to copyright restrictions, this article does not appear in the online version of the Immanuel Home Messenger.

Copyright © 2010
Mandy Houk
Reprinted by permission from Marriage Partnership

Volunteer Opportunity

Red Cross Blood Drive

Mark it on your calendars! The Immanuel Lutheran Church and School annual Red Cross Blood Drive will be held in the Multi-Purpose Facility on Wednesday, May 12 from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

If you are a current blood donor or an individual who has thought about donating your blood, please, consider participating in our blood drive.

Our goal this year is 45 units which generally means that we need at least 60 volunteer donors since not everyone will be able to make a successful donation due to unexpected schedule conflicts or physical factors such as low iron.

Anyone who is 17 years of age, at least 110 pounds, and in good health can donate blood. In Minnesota 16-year olds may also donate blood as long as they have the written permission of their parents.

All donors must bring picture ID with them in order to donate. If you are unable to donate blood, but would still like to participate in this effort, please contact Pastor Nolting. Volunteers are needed to call potential donors in the days prior to the blood drive and then on the day of the blood drive for set-up/take-down, as greeters, and as canteen workers.

Facts about blood needs, as provided by the American Red Cross:

• Every two seconds someone in the Unites States needs blood.
• More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day.
• One out of every 10 people admitted to the hospital needs blood.
• Total blood transfusions in a given year: 14 million (2001).
• The average red blood cell transfusion is approximately 3 pints.
• The blood type most often requested by hospitals is Type O.
• The blood used in an emergency is already on the shelves before the event occurs.
• Sickle cell disease affects more than 80,000 people in the United States, 98% of whom are African-American. Sickle cell patients can require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lives.
• More than 1 million new people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.
• A single car crash victim can require as many as 100 units of blood.

Christian Parenting/Family

Media Measure

A Tool for Families

These questions will help you take a quick measure of the kinds of media and how you use them with your children.

Directions: At the start of each media section the three traffic signs will help you evaluate your answers.

For each kind of media that you use, circle the answers: No, Sometimes, or Yes that best describe your media habits.

Movies/Videos
Do you take your children to movies that are for teens or adults?	No	Sometimes	Yes
Do you know what movies your children are going to see or rent?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do you check movie ratings before giving permission?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do you rent or record movies or shows that are age appropriate for your children to watch?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do children in your care see movies or videos that contain a lot of violence?	No	Sometimes	Yes
Do you check with other adults about which movies may be shown at parties or sleep-overs?	Yes	Sometimes	No
What are your totals?	______	______	_____
Television
Is there a television in the room where children sleep?	No	Sometimes	Yes
Is the TV on even when no one is watching it?	No	Sometimes	Yes
Do you have rules about when and what TV can be watched?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do you often use TV as a babysitter?	No	Sometimes	Yes
Is the TV turned off during meals and/or snacks?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do children see adult TV shows?	No	Sometimes	Yes
What are your totals?	______	______	_____
Music
Do you play children’s music for children in your care?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do you sing rhymes and lullabies for infants in your care?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do you listen to the music the older children play?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do children in your care listen to music with violent lyrics?	No	Sometimes	Yes
What are your totals?	______	______	_____
Video & Computer Games
Do children in your care own or rent games that have violent content?	No	Sometimes	Yes
Are children in the room when you play an adult game?	Yes	Sometimes	No
If the children in your care play a game, is it age-appropriate?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do you check a game’s rating before you rent or buy it?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do you limit children’s playing time?	Yes	Sometimes	No
What are your totals?	______	______	_____
Internet
Do you keep your computer where you can monitor it?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do you talk with children in your care about safety on the internet?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do you find and mark good sites for children?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do you use internet filter or blocking which prevents children from visiting inappropriate websites?	Yes	Sometimes	No
Do you monitor older children’s use of social networking sites such as Facebook?	Yes	Sometimes	No
What are your totals?	______	______	_____

Scoring: Look at your answers for each category. Count the number circled in each column.

Answers circled in the Go (green light) column mean that what’s happening are good media habits for children.

Answers circled in the Caution (yellow light) column means you might want to think about your media use with your children.

Answers circled in the Stop (red light) column means you might want to find out what’s happening with media and how they effect children.

Media is a powerful teacher. It can help or harm our children. How to understand and use media is a big task. It’s our job to help our children reap the benefits of media and avoid its pitfalls and traps.

Reprinted
National Institute on Media and the Family

Camp Koyquin is back this summer in Pillager, MN. You're invited to a week filled with Christ, fellowship, friends, and fun in the sun. Live life on the wild side as you skid down the wooden slide and sail across the water (parents are invited to slide down too, so wear your suits when you drop your kids off!), learn to kayak, canoe, and even go fishing on the pontoon. Craft up a storm, learn to line dance, or just be with your friends. New activities and programming is in the works!

Dates: Sunday, June 13th - Saturday, June 19th
Location: 1026 Camp Jim Road SW, Pillager, MN 56473
Cost: $150.00 per camper. Scholarships are available.

More Information: koyquin.clclutheran.net

Evangelism Snack ‘n Learn

Immanuel’s Evangelism Group invites you to a “Snack ‘n Learn” opportunity following the worship service on May 16th. A new program for sharing the Gospel will be introduced. Your feedback and ideas will be very important as will any possible assistance in implementing the program. The Snack ‘n Learn will take place in the church basement where there will be light refreshments for the 45 minute (approximately) event.

Making use of the Gospel is the work we are called to do. It is our prayer that many will make plans to stay and learn and be involved with this particular effort in our ministry.

Traveling
Vacation
Bible
School 2010

Traveling Vacation Bible School [TVBS] is a mission effort within the Church of the Lutheran Confession [CLC]. The TVBS program matches volunteers from CLC congregations with sister congregations who need assistance in order to have a Vacation Bible School.

Immanuel is leading two TVBS trips this year—both to Bowdle and Ipswich, SD. TVBS.

1. Flyer trip to Bowdle/Ipswich – leave Mankato July 14 (a.m.) and return July 17 (p.m.).
2. Teaching trip to Bowdle/Ipswich – depart Mankato July 25 and return July 31.

Both trips are in need of volunteer chaperones/drivers and youth staff (8th grade graduates and older).

There is limited need/space for each trip so if you’d like to volunteer please sign-up soon (sign-up sheet is in the church narthex).

For further information, please speak to Pastor Eichstadt.

Immanuel Notes

A National Day of Prayer service will be held at 12:15 p.m. on May 6th. The prayer service is about 30 minutes.

Ascension Day Worship: We will praise our ascended Savior in an Ascension Day worship service on May 13th at 7:00 p.m. The service includes a mini-concert by the Immanuel Lutheran School Choir.

Vacation Bible School
July 26-30

Summer Ensembles/Music for Worship: During the school year, we enjoy the blessing of having a choir present a musical selection almost every week. The musical presentations of God’s Word are a valued addition to our worship services. During the summer the choirs are not in session. However, if you would like to offer your musical talents to a worship service, please contact either pastor. This may be an instrumental selection, solo, duet, ensemble, etc.

Pentecost—the Festival of the Holy Spirit—is Sunday, May 23. In our worship, we will remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples as well as the gifts of the Holy Spirit to us today!