mclclititz

In our New year's Eve address, Pr. Seifferlein explores Numbers 28 and 29 as we hear how each day, week, month, and year are ordered by God's direction.

For Bible Class today we discussed the martyrs of the church.

On Sunday, the day after Christmas, the colors on the altar change to red as we celebrate the Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the church.

On Christmas Day, Pastor Seifferlein preached on the theme "The God who showed up."

We welcome you to our Midweek Advent Services as we study the book of Zephaniah. In this time of Advent, Zephaniah turns us to faith in the Lord as we see the Last Day approaching. Zephaniah’s name means, “Yahweh conceals or hides.” The prophet’s name points us to Christmas, for the LORD hid as a baby in a manger that He might come to deliver His people, and bring judgment on His foes. Tonight we will read Zephaniah 3:8-20 and consider “Coming Hope For God’s People and the Nations.”

This evening we gathered and heard the account of Christ’s nativity from Luke chapter 2. The theme of the sermon was, “Jesus Birth and the Powers in Rome.” Join us for a Christmas Day service at 9am, and on Sunday for the Feast of St. Stephen.

This afternoon we gathered and heard the account of Christ’s nativity from Luke chapter 2. The theme of the sermon was, “The Message of the Angels.” Join us for a Christmas Day service at 9am, and on Sunday for the Feast of St. Stephen.

Join us this week as we conclude the manual of offerings in chapter 7 of Leviticus in preparation for beginning a new section of the book, the inauguration of the Divine Service, which begins in chapter 8.

Our Savior is nearly here. John (the Baptist) declares it. Help, amid this troubled world of sin, death, and Satan, has almost come. Rejoice with us this Sunday as we hear the news of our almost arriving Savior. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

We welcome you to our Midweek Advent Services as we study the book of Zephaniah. In this time of Advent, Zephaniah turns us to faith in the Lord as we see the Last Day approaching. Zephaniah’s name means, “Yahweh conceals or hides.” The prophet’s name points us to Christmas, for the LORD hid as a baby in a manger that He might come to deliver His people, and bring judgment on His foes. Tonight we will read Zephaniah 3:1-8 and consider “God’s Dear City Has Abandoned Him.”

On this Sunday where we light the pink candle of joy, we gather to hear about the ministry of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was sent by God to prepare people’s hearts for the ministry of Jesus, yet John the Baptist was put in prison by King Herod who refused to heed John’s message that he should repent of his sin of adultery. In prison, John the Baptist called sent messengers to Jesus, asking Him if He was the Promised Christ. Though John faced both belief and doubt in his great time of trouble, John shows us where to go when we are facing such things, to Jesus. Jesus is doing great signs and wonders and preaching the Gospel to the poor. God grants John the Baptist faith to accept his lot in life, death by the sword. Though trouble beset our path, the Gospel of Jesus, the salvation He brings, and the things that He does, gives us courage to face our troubles, and to live and die in His peace.

In Bible Class this week we discuss the daily grain offering of the High Priest in Leviticus 6:19-23.

On the Second Sunday in Advent we gather to hear about the final days of this world. The Lord warns us of the things that will happen and that we should guard against distress and anxiety and instead keep watch and pray that we might stand before the Son of Man when He returns. We plead for Christ’s deliverance and pray for faithfulness until His coming.

We welcome you to our Midweek Advent Services as we study the book of Zephaniah. In this time of Advent, Zephaniah turns us to faith in the Lord as we see the Last Day approaching. Zephaniah’s name means, “Yahweh conceals or hides.” The prophet’s name points us to Christmas, for the LORD hid as a baby in a manger that He might come to deliver His people, and bring judgment on His foes. Tonight we will read Zephaniah 1:1—2:3 and consider “Destruction Near – One Last Chance to Repent.”

In the Parable of the Wise & Foolish Virgins, Christ warns us against falling asleep amidst the long night of waiting for His return. Oil is given to keep our lamps and faith brightly burning until the cry is heard that the bridegroom has arrived. Through the preparation of hearing Christ’s Word and receiving His Sacraments, we are made ready by God for the day that we will go out to meet our Savior and enter into the eternal feast of great rejoicing. Slumber and drowsiness are the temptations we face in this life that would tempt us to forget in this life what we need and what matters and how difficult the wait can be. On the Last Sunday of the Church Year we renew the wait by repenting of our sin and clinging to the only means by which we are saved, Christ our Lord and the gifts that He gives.

Justinian, Christian Ruler and Confessor of Christ – Justinian was emperor of the East from A.D. 527 to 565 when the Roman Empire was in decline. With his beautiful and capable wife, Theodora, he restored splendor and majesty to the Byzantine court. During his reign the Empire experienced a renaissance, due in large part to his ambition, intelligence, and strong religious convictions. Justinian also attempted to bring unity to a divided church. He was a champion of orthodox Christianity and sought agreement among the parties in the Christological controversies of the day who were disputing the relation between the divine and human natures in the Person of Christ. The Fifth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in A.D. 533 was held during his reign and addressed this dispute. Justinian died in his eighties, not accomplishing his desire for an empire that was firmly Christian and orthodox.

This Sunday we will hear about the Final Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46). Jesus will return in glory, and He will separate the sheep and the goats. Those on His left will be cast into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, while those on His right will inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. We look forward to the new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells as we await the promise of Christ’s coming.

Martin Chemnitz, Pastor and Confessor – Martin Chemnitz (1522–1586) is regarded after Martin Luther as the most important theologian in the history of the Lutheran Church. Chemnitz combined a penetrating intellect and an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Scripture and the church fathers with a genuine love for the church. When various doctrinal disagreements broke out after Luther's death in 1546, Chemnitz determined to give himself fully to the restoration of unity in the Lutheran Church. He became the leading spirit and principal author of the 1577 Formula of Concord, which settled the doctrinal disputes on the basis of the Scriptures and largely succeeded in restoring unity among Lutherans. Chemnitz also authored the four volume Examination of the Council of Trent (1565–1573), in which he rigorously subjected the teachings of this Roman Catholic Council to the judgment of Scripture and the ancient church fathers. The Examination became the definitive Lutheran answer to the Council of Trent, as well as a thorough exposition of the faith of the Augsburg Confession. A theologian and a churchman, Chemnitz was truly a gift of God to the Church.

Pastor Seifferlein speaks about the daily public offering in Leviticus chapter 6

This Sunday we will remember before God all those who have died in the faith and now rest from their labors. The bell will be tolled for those in our congregation who died this past year as we celebrate the liturgy of the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed. We will mightily praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who have seen them safely home even as we recall His promises to us. “And though the fight is fierce, the warfare long, steals on the ear the distant triumph song, and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. Alleluia!”

Last weeks’ bible class was on Leviticus 5:14-6:7, “The Reparation Offering.” We are now recording these sessions for your use

Johnnes von Staupitz, Luther’s Father confessor – Johannes von Staupitz (ca. 1469–1524), vicar-general of the Augustinian Order in Germany and friend of Martin Luther, was born in Saxony. He studied at the universities in Leipzig and Cologne and served on the faculty at Cologne. In 1503 he was called by Frederick the Wise to serve as dean of the theological faculty at the newly founded University of Wittenberg. There he encouraged Luther to attain a doctorate in theology and appointed Luther as his successor to professor of Bible. During Luther's early struggles to understand God's grace, it was Staupitz who counseled Luther to focus on Christ and not on himself.

This Sunday we gather to receive the great truths reclaimed and recovered during the time of the Reformation of the Church. We are saved by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, because of Christ Alone, as demonstrated by the Word Alone, to the glory of God Alone. Thanks be to God!

These women were exemplary Christians who demonstrated their faith by their material support of the Church. Dorcas (also known as Tabitha) was well known and much loved for her acts of charity in the city of Joppa, especially for her making clothes for the poor. When Dorcas died suddenly, the members of her congregation sent to the neighboring city of Lydda for the Apostle Peter, who came and raised her from the dead (Acts 9:36–41). Lydia was a woman of Thyatira, who worked at Philippi selling a famous purple dye that was so much in demand in the ancient world. She was also a “worshiper of God” at the local synagogue. When the Apostle Paul encountered her in prayer among other proselyte women, his preaching of the Word brought Lydia to faith in Christ. She and her friends thus became the nucleus of the Christian community in Philippi (16:13–15, 40). Phoebe was another faithful woman associated with the Apostle Paul. She was a deaconess from Cenchrae (the port of Corinth) whom Paul sent to the church in Rome with his Epistle to the Romans. In it he writes of her support for the work of the early Church (Rom 16:1).