Newsletter Articles

Notice that you likely put coveting and theft pretty low on the list—rightly so. God gives us all kinds of wonderful things that we consider our property, and if those are taken away, we feel upset, violated, and lacking, but those gifts that money can buy are nowhere near as valuable as our families and human life, so when these lesser gifts are corrupted, the sense of pain and loss is comparably less than adultery or murder.

The message we send earns us nothing before God—we don’t need to earn anything, as Jesus has already earned eternal life for us. But our message impacts the world around us.
If you could send one message to the world, what would it be? Is it the message of God’s love?
What message is your life sending? Is it the kind of message you’d like to put on the side of a bus?

But Christianity offers something else entirely and is unique in this offering: Christianity offers forgiveness.

If you’re coasting for a long time, you’re likely going downhill. The time has come for St. Paul’s to stop moving in that direction, turn around, and head to the top. Yes, it’s a lot more difficult and takes some real work to go uphill instead of downhill, but in doing so, we get back to our mission. Of course, we need to define our mission, first!

Christmas: This time of year, you’ll probably hear a lot, as usual, about “keeping Christ in Christmas.” For most people, that seems to translate roughly to, “Keep a nativity scene on the courthouse lawn,” but I would contend that actually sharing Christ in word and deed is a lot more important than a display we don’t even have on the church property, so I’d like to share some holiday-specific ideas.

Do not trust the words of this saying, “This is the LORD’S temple, the LORD’S temple, the LORD’S temple!” (Jeremiah 7:3, 4, GWV)
The people of Jeremiah’s day, specifically the residents of Jerusalem, were facing invasion by a seemingly unstoppable enemy, but they had faith that God would protect them. Soon after, the Chaldean army captured Jerusalem and took the people into captivity.read more »

A newsletter article on the importance of focusing on outreach and spiritual growth instead of fund raisers and numerical growth.

Like a letter to a camper, God has sent us a love letter, the Bible.

The complete collection of 12 newsletter articles, explaining the history and purpose of the various elements of the Lutheran liturgy.

The 12th and final part of the Newsletter Article series on the meaning of the various parts of the liturgy, concluding with the Post-Communion Canticle, Post-Communion Collect, and Dismissal or Benediction.

A newsletter article discussing the Agnus Dei and Distribution of Holy Communion in the liturgy

The next installment of the series on the meaning of the parts of the liturgy. Featured this month: Prayer of Thanksgiving, Lord's Prayer, Words of Institution, and the Peace (Pax Domini).

A newsletter article explaining the Preface, Proper Preface, Sanctus, and Benedictus in the Divine Service

A newsletter article explaining the Prayer of the Church

A newsletter article explaining the Hymn of the Day and Sermon

A Newsletter article explaining the Offering and Offertory

Newsletter Articles

Non-Member Submissions

• west wing theology.rtf: From Rev. Rick Anderegg: "What makes this show and these people so inviting? What can you and I learn from them? Integrity! Honesty! Proper pride! Standing for something!"
• Pastor's Corner 11-2002.rtf: A discussion of the Holiness of God by Rev. Richard Von Steinman "Anyone read more »