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August 2010
Church News
Jul 23, 2010
Our Dying Words
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Have you ever thought about what your dying words will be? What I’m talking about here are the words we will say to our family members just before we leave this world if the Lord allows us that special time. Christians often ask me why the Lord allows his children to die slow deaths. I believe one reason is because a slow death allows for time to converse with family members. It’s a time to get real with loved ones. And if there is any better time to get real with loved ones it’s when you are about to die.
So what will you say when you are about to close your eyes in death? There is a country western song about man who is about to die. This man has a dog named Jake and in the song he sings,
If I die before I wake, feed Jake.
Is this the kind of stuff we want to say? Do we want to tell our loved ones to make sure our earthly possessions are well taken care of?
It was different for King David. In our Today’s Light Bible reading program, I read from 1 Kings 2 today. It’s about a father who is about to die and his son is by his side and what does this father say to his son? I’ll let you read it yourself:
When the time drew near for David to die, he gave charge to Solomon his son. “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the LORD your God requires; Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go…” (1 Kings 2:1-3)
What the dying David said to his son could be summed up in just a few words, “Remain faithful.” Isn’t this also the message we want to pass on to our family members when we are on our deathbed? “Remain faithful to the Lord Jesus.” What’s more important than that? Remaining faithful to the Lord Jesus is about more than just trying to obey the Commandments. It’s about remaining faithful to all the Word of the Lord when around us we see confessing Christians giving up the Word. It’s about fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. It’s about fighting the good fight of faith. It’s about having our faith regularly feed with the Word of God and the Sacrament of the Altar.
My friends, unless Jesus comes back in our lifetime, we are all going to die. The wages of sin is death. But thank the Lord it doesn’t end there… “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) We have eternal life. We want others to share that eternal life with us. We don’t only share the good news of Jesus when we are living but we also share it when we are very near death. Don’t forget that. What will your dying words be?
On the cross, while shedding his blood for you and me Jesus spoke some of his most wonderful words he ever spoke. Those dying words brought lasting comfort and peace to those around Jesus and those words bring us comfort and peace today. Think about what you want to say when you are dying and think about it now before you die so when the time comes you will be ready to speak those words to your loved ones. Let those words be words of encouragement to remain faithful to Jesus who will never leave us for forsake us.
God’s Peace in Christ:
Pastor Krueger
Ladies of Immanuel
The Mary & Martha Circles would like to thank the women who responded to the recent funeral survey asking for cake and bar bakers and workers. We gained many bakers and a few workers. Your names were added to the list and you will be called. We try not to ask the same people for consecutive funerals if we can help it. Also when you have a funeral and you are called and we do not find you at home, we do not leave a message, for time is usually short and we cannot wait to see if you will return the call. You might be on vacation or out of town. We continue down the list of people until we get enough cakes or bars and workers. Without your assistance we would never be able to put on the wonderful meals that are provided at funerals. Thank you once again for responding and offering your assistance. To our faithful bakers, workers and especially our cooks we are grateful for always being so ready to bake and work and organize the funeral meal. It is very rewarding to see the women giving of their time and talent in this special way. On July 8th. Lois Jari, JoAnn Pepke and Sandy Hartwig spent the morning cleaning our ovens and both refrigerators and using Murphy's Oil on all the cupboard drawers inside and out. It was a big job and they did a wonderful job. Thank you for your efforts. I think at times we all forget just how much work is involved to maintain our kitchen facility and it is taken for granted. Thanks ladies.
Jan Smith, Mary Circle President
Billie Brunn, Martha Circle President
Immanuel Lutheran School
Summer School Support
Please continue to help support your school during the summer. Continue to save Boxtops for Education, all the various bottle caps from dairy products, Donuts to Dough, and UPC codes from various Campbell’s products (Not the front labels). Please see the attached list of products that qualify for the Labels for Education program. If you save any of the items above, you may either drop them off throughout the summer, or bring them in when school begins next fall.
Besides collecting items to support your school, you may also raise funds by using your computer. Instead of searching on Google, go to www.goodsearch.com. This is a search engine that is powered by Yahoo. When you are at the GoodSearch website, you can download their toolbar so it’s always convenient to use every time you go online. Enter “immanuel medford” as your charity, and every time you use GoodSearch, funds are automatically credited to ILS. If you enjoy online shopping, you may also want to check out GoodShop as another way to support your school.
ILS Scrip is now available on Sunday mornings between services and from the church office 7-2 Monday thru Friday. Please note that any Scrip that is purchased this summer will go to your next year’s tuition. We encourage our members to take advantage of this wonderful way to support your school. Listed below are the Scrip Cards in stock:
County Market (4%), Happy Joes (10%), Medford Café (10%), McDonalds (5%),
High View Restaurant (10%) & Mirage Hair Design (5%)
When you purchase scrip, you get it at full face value, dollar for dollar, and the vendor returns a percentage, as listed above, of the scrip purchase back to ILS.
Church and School Wish List
ITEM
Church & School Budget
Bulletins
Christian Education Fund
Christian Endowment Fund
Radio Broadcast
School Tech Fund $3000
Brackets for New Service
Supplements $1650
Carpeting & Floor Tile for LLAM $1000