We are living in a world that is constantly changing and often not for the best. We are experiencing inflation with higher prices, increases in crime, world conflicts and wars, chaos at all turns and uncertainty about how it’s all going to end. The only thing not changing is God and His unlimited love and tolerance for us. It seems like when things are going well we think we can improve on it with our own thoughts and programs. The only problem is that each time we do this we scrap God’s word and create our own. The original (God’s Word) can never be equaled or improved on and we only create more problems for ourselves. This has happened time and time again as we saw with the Reformation. The church fell away to habit and tradition and Luther helped us return to Scripture, God’s Word.

When was the last time you reviewed your confirmation promises and what you learned about the basics of the Christian faith. All we need for life is included in these but we often don’t review what we believe and why we believe it. The devil has many ways to lure us away from Scripture and con us into thinking there’s a better way to live life.

On November 5 we will remember the faithful who lived their life for God and returned home to join Him for all eternity, through faith in Jesus Christ. We are encouraged to grieve with hope—hope being the certainty of eternal life and a reunion with our heavenly Father. All Saints’ Day is a day when we miss our loved ones who have gone before us but are joyful that they are with God and we’ll join them in the future.

When we come to Thanksgiving at the end of November, we have many things to be thankful for. These things include earthly blessings but more than that, they include our faith, trust, comfort and strength in God. Let us truly meditate on things other than this earth and look for the peace that passes all understanding.

May God bless you and watch over you as you cling to your faith in Jesus as your Lord and your Savior. Let us work even harder during these Holy Days and let us share our faith  with them and invite them to come and see who God is.

Peace and happiness be to all of you.

In Christ our Lord,

Pastor Weikart

Lutheran Church of Providence

March, 2020 Newsletter

Pastor’s Corner

As we approach the end of February we anticipate many changes. March gives us the hope of spring, especially as we change our clocks once again to give us more daylight to enjoy. (What a way to deceive ourselves.) The weather in March is warmer as plants bloom, swimming pools are uncovered, St Patrick’s Day is celebrated and storms seem to ease up.

One very important item happens that much of the world ignores ― Lent begins. On February 26^th Ash Wednesday is observed when we admit our sinfulness and our disobedience to God. Because of our sinful lifestyle we are estranged from God and are condemned to die ― physically and eternally. God, however, out of loving us so much, devises a plan to pay the price for our sin and to bring us back to a restored relationship with Him.

God’s plan is to pay the price of sin for us since we don’t have any way of making up for our sin. God’s plan was to make His Son to be a human like us but without ever sinning at all. And so Jesus was born of a human mother but with God as His Father. Being perfect in every way, Jesus didn’t have to die but He chose to die, in our place, to pay for the sins we (you and I) have committed. His death was very painful and cruel as He suffered for all of our sins. His death (and our death to sin) wasn’t the end. The Father raised Him on the third day and declared that His new life (Resurrection) was our new life also.

On Ash Wednesday we will gather for a light supper at 5:30 PM before we enter God’s house at 7:00 PM to worship Him. Ashes, made from burning last years’ palms from Palm Sunday will be imposed on our foreheads in the sign of the cross. These ashes remind us that God created us out of the dust of the ground and that because of sin when our bodies die, they will return to the dust of the ground. Since we have a soul as well as a body, our souls will return to God in heaven when we believe and have faith that Jesus paid the price for us when He died on the cross.

Weekly, during Lent, we will worship not only on Sunday but also on Wednesday evenings. We will be considering how the Passion of Jesus looks through the eyes of various people. We will see various aspects of our faith in a new light.

This will be an excellent time to invite others to attend church with you being that the service will be shorter and Holy Communion will not be offered. Many people don’t understand about the Church and this will be one way to begin to reeducate them and break down the barriers.

Let’s be diligent in our preparation during Lent both in our private devotions as well as in our corporate worship. Many people will plan on attending on Easter Sunday, however, unless you understand about the how and why of Easter through our pilgrimage of Lent, Easter loses much of its impact and meaning.

I hope to see you weekly as we grow into the new life that God gives us as a free gift.

Pastor Weikart

Our Lenten Focus by Roy Armstrong

Lent, the church-year season that begins on Ash Wednesday, is a time of penitence and spiritual renewal. Some people give up a luxury or a vice during Lent as a form of self-denial; others undertake a project that benefits others. The point isn’t to denigrate ourselves or to see how much we can do without. Instead, Lent helps us reflect on Jesus’ death. As Timothy Keller writes in The Reason for God: “The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.”

This Lenten season please invite your friends and neighbors to one of our mid-week Lenten services to share a light meal and worship. Our recent Sunday Service attendance has been right around the 100 person mark. When I think back six years ago when we joined Lutheran Church of Providence and our numbers were in the twenties, I was worried and there was talk of the church closing. How relieved I am that we had a strong Church Council and President who followed the right road and fought on to keep our beautiful Church open and we were sent a Pastor who saw our potential and kept us growing! With God’s Blessing we will continue to grow and prosper! In the next 30 days please watch for some new security enhancements here at the Church to keep all of us safe during and after worship service!

Lent is based off of Jesus’ time in the desert, in which for 40 days He fasted and prayed and was tempted by the devil before angels came and tended to Him.

Here are seven Bible verses commonly associated with Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season.

Joel 2:12-14
“Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing — grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God.

Matthew 6:16-18
When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Mark 1:13
And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.

Ecclesiastes 3:20
All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

1 Peter 5:6
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Just a Child of God, Roy Armstrong, Council Vice President

Lutheran Church of Providence

February, 2020 Newsletter

Pastor’s Corner

Driving home the other day I saw Christmas lights glowing at many houses. I don’t know if they were left over from last year or if people were getting a jump on this year. When I got home, in the mail were several brochures aimed at the upcoming Lenten season. How fast time flies when we finish one Holy Day (Christmas) and enter another somber group of Holy days, Lent, leading to a grand celebration of Easter.

Christmas seems to get most of the emphasis due to the fact that stores make most of their profit during Christmas. They are attempting to make Easter like Christmas for their own gain but it hasn’t taken hold like Christmas has. Part of the reason is that Lent and Easter have the topic of death in it. We don’t like to think about death even though all of us will entertain it with our bodies one day.

Ash Wednesday reminds us of our death when we receive ashes on our foreheads and are reminded “you are dust and to dust you shall return.”  Not a whole lot of joy in that. During Lent we look critically at ourselves and admit how much we have sinned against God, been disobedient and deserve to be punished. We don’t deserve anything good – but God looks at us, loves us, and devises a plan to bring us back to Him. Lent is a time to reflect on that plan and to look to God for His gift of eternal life through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

This year we will have our mid-week Lenten services every Wednesday at 7:00 PM beginning with Ash Wednesday on February 26. In the following weeks we will consider parts of Jesus’ life and death as seen through the eyes of certain people at that time. In each of these cases we will be able to identify with these people even when they do things that we consider shameful. However, that’s the person we present to God every week when we approach His table to receive Jesus’ body and blood in Holy Communion. As we contemplate who we really are, beneath the façade that we like to present to others, we plead with God to have mercy on us.

God does have mercy on us but then we go out and do the very things that we promised God we wouldn’t do. What great love God has for us that he repeatedly forgives us again and again even when we don’t follow through on what we promised to do.

The good news of Easter is built on a stern look at who we really are and how undeserving we are of God’s love. Our task is to take this message out to the world and invite them to get to know God in a personal way. People in the world don’t want to die forever but may have never been taught the way to eternal life. I ask you this year to choose at least one person that during this Lenten season you will pray for, invite, spend time with and reach out to with the Gospel message. Let them know that as a church we are here to serve them with no strings attached. Please, I beg you, get involved in at least one program in the church and make it a priority to bring someone along with you. The joy of doing so will bring you happiness beyond any material gift that you received at Christmas.

Pastor Weikart

MESSAGE FROM VICE-PRESIDENT ROY ARMSTRONG

I remember growing up and watching some very silly—but delightfully entertaining for a child—movies on TV that centered on Genies and the magical mysteries of the mysterious east! “The thief of Baghdad,” “The Flying Carpet” or the “The 7 voyages of Sinbad” all would equally entertain us as we sat mesmerized by the fantasy that unfolded before our eyes. Now I can’t be certain, but I think the magical phrase from “Arabian Nights” is featured in at least one of these films: Open Sesame! Do you remember that phrase? It would be the magical password you would need to use in order to enter the secret cave where a genie and his/her bottle were waiting for their new master to find them. Open Sesame! To be opened was to reveal the secrets that lay within. To be opened was to allow the story to continue in a new and marvelous way. To be opened was the first step in a new relationship that was about to unfold.

In the Gospel of Mark, there is a man who cannot hear or speak and his friends ask for him to be healed and we are told that Jesus looking up to heaven, sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly (Mark 7.33-35). The season of Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday is a time for us to be open. It is not always by intention, but we can often find ourselves feeling closed off to God and the spiritual realities of our life. We become so busy and overwhelmed with the fast pace of our world, and the pulls on our time and energy that we become the classic “Human Doing” versus the “Human Being” that we were made to be! So, I have some suggestions for where our lives might benefit from being ‘Open” to God, neighbor and ourselves during these days of Lent. Open Our Eyes, Lord! Paul saw the light of Christ shining around him on the road to Damascus. As individuals and communities, what do we have difficulty seeing? How does our perspective change when we view the world through the eyes of Christ? Consider praying for God to help you ‘see’ as God sees the world!

Open Our Hands, Lord! We use our hands to pick up a child, to serve a meal, to play an instrument, to wipe away a tear. Jesus used his hands for healing and for deeds of great power, and the psalmist reminds us that we are always held fast in God’s hands. In Deuteronomy, Moses encourages us to open our hands in service to others. What would it mean for you to open your hands to serve God? One place to start would be to use our hands to serve one another as opposed to insisting on being served!

Open Our Ears, Lord! Ancient Greek philosophy notes that we have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. Jesus reminds us that we sometimes hear but don’t listen, listen but don’t understand. Opening our ears isn’t as easy as it sounds. Why not use this time of Lent to set aside an extended time of silence, listening, prayer, and meditation? Or perhaps you can try a whole day to work on listening. Don’t be worried about trying to share your opinions as much as you are about making sure you completely understand the opinions and perspectives of others!

Open Our Heart, Lord! Listening to Paul’s teaching, Lydia opened her heart to God and was baptized. Her willing, trusting faith echoes down through the centuries as we witness her “open heart procedure.” Why not join in with others to respond to a need either locally or globally. Well I don’t know how this little exercise might change you or your life; but if those old movies were any indication, ‘to be open’ is the beginning of a whole new adventure!

As we enter this Easter season let everyone know “Gods’ Church is Open.” ur Church,” Lutheran Church of Providence is Open” invite a friend, a relative or a stranger to attend Church this Lenten/Easter season make a difference in someone’s life!

Just a Child of God,

Roy Armstrong

MEMORIALS

A memorial was received from Myrtle Wells in memory of Donna Boslau for the air conditioner fund.

Lutheran Church of Providence

January, 2020 Newsletter

Pastor’s Corner

Well, here it is the end of one year and the beginning of another. Many people are making resolutions to improve their lives and to get a new start on things? I wonder how many people are resolving to grow in their faith and relationship with God. How many are committing to eliminate a certain sin that has been hurting their relationship with God? How many have decided to become more regular in their daily devotion life and in their church attendance to worship God?

Often we concern ourselves with our bodies and not with our souls. Often we want to make our life on earth more complete but neglect to improve our life with God and to prepare ourselves to be with Him forever. God has richly blessed us in the past years and wants us to draw closer to Him so He can bless us even more in the future. God has chosen us through Holy Baptism to be His sons and daughters.

    I predict that the church, Christianity in general and our faith will come under increased pressure in 2020. Satan wants to draw us away from God and will do all he can to be successful. Seldom will he act openly but he will challenge us to “water down” our faith, only observe the parts of our faith that we like, or scam us into believing that we can do whatever we want as long as we tell God ‘I’m sorry.’

Not everyone can and will follow God because He calls us to such a high level and expects us to imitate Him in all ways. Just belonging to a church or saying we are a member isn’t enough. We are required to ‘walk the walk’ and show people who our God is by our actions and not just our words. We need to strive to keep the entire Word of God and not just the parts we want to keep. We need to ‘be about our Father’s business’ daily in all we say and do.

In the years I have been with you at the Lutheran Church of Providence, you have worked hard and helped the church get back on its feet. I thank you from the depths of my being ― but, we aren’t done yet. This year we need to invite others to join us, we need to rebuild our Sunday School, strengthen our bonds with the preschool, serve the underprivileged in our community and strengthen our bonds with God and with one another.

God has a mission for us in the new year and we must tackle it with joy and determination. Again, I thank you for your love and support and I look forward to serving God with you in a new year.

Pastor Weikart

Lutheran Church of Providence

December, 2019 Newsletter

Pastor’s Corner

The Lord is coming ― Christmas is almost here. The excitement builds as we look forward to the holidays. People will panic as December 25 comes and aren’t ready yet. There’s all the big things that haven’t been completed as well as a lot of little things that need to be done. One question always looms for us ― how do we prepare spiritually for the coming of Jesus?

John the Baptist tells us to repent ― change our sinful ways ― walk in the light of Christ. It’s hard to repent, however, because much of what we do has become habit and we’re not even aware of how and why we sin. This means that we have to examine ourselves and look at the negative and not the good parts of ourselves. However, Christ came to save sinful people and we are all sinners in one way or another. Often we want to see our good side and not our sinful side.

When Jesus gave us His body and blood in Holy Communion, He instructed us to examine ourselves so we are truly prepared to have our sins forgiven. This ought to be a weekly assurance but one that we often neglect. John the Baptist also told us to be baptized. How many people do you know who aren’t baptized? How many people have you asked to find out if they’re baptized? Many people neglect baptism when their children are young and say they want their

children to decide for themselves when they get older. Unless they ask about it, it may not seem to be that important. That is why we need to ask and offer to help them join the family of God.

Christmas also reminds us that Christ will come to earth again for the second time. Each year we are closer to Him returning. Are we ready at any second to meet Him? How are we living our lives? How are we obeying the commands He has given us? Are there areas of our faith that need strengthening?

Because Christ hasn’t returned yet we assume it won’t happen in our lifetime but it could happen at any time. All the signs that the Bible tells us about have been or are being fulfilled. We are told that His coming will be like a thief in the night. Many people were surprised when Christ first came as a baby and many will be surprised and shocked when He comes again.

Time is short and we have a lot to do to be prepared for Christ’s coming. Let’s focus this year on our spiritual preparation as we prepare to worship God on Christmas Eve at 7:00 PM and Christmas Day at 10:00 AM. May God Bless Us, Have mercy on us and keep us in His care.

Pastor Weikart

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Merry Christmas!

Every time you say, “born of the Virgin Mary” in the Apostle’s Creed, words that can easily flow from the lips, do you give pause and truly marvel at that statement? Jesus being born of a virgin is miraculous enough but being born at all even more so! God the Son, born! The One eternally being Begotten of the Father is conceived by God the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary and is BORN. God born! The only greater moments in history that literally shook creation itself and caused heaven to marvel was when God made flesh Jesus died on the cross and then rose from the tomb.

We find ourselves in the Advent season, looking forward to celebrating God’s incredible gift to us of sending His only Begotten Son into our very flesh to be our substitute – the One Who would fulfill the Law we could never follow, and pay the Life we could never offer to remove the debt of our sinfulness.

But we know that in the person of Jesus, God has become like us so that we can once again be made like Him and live with Him, as we were designed. How humbled and awe struck we should be at this truth! God enable us these Advent and Christmas seasons to truly marvel at His love for us – that we indeed marvel at Emmanuel, that God is with us in the flesh that we can be with Him for eternity. God grant that we NEVER take this miraculous and most incredible truth for granted.

On behalf of my family and myself I want to wish each of you a Very Merry Christmas! I also want to thank the congregation for allowing me to be your Council President these past two years. I look forward to 2020 as another year of growth at the Lutheran Church of Providence and I know our new Council President, Grady Gresham, will keep us on the right path.

A very special thank you and well done to Pastor Weikart for his guidance and understanding during this past year. We are very blessed to have him as our Pastor!

A Child of God, Remembering the Price God Paid to Save Me from My Sin,

Roy Armstrong , Council President

LCP’S MAILBOX

My family, friends and I would like to thank all of you who participated in my daughter Stephanie’s memorial service on October 12th. The cards, gifts, phone calls, prayers, words of kindness and the entire afternoon of the service and the food and fellowship were more than expected from any of us. We are so truly blessed to have you in our lives and for you to have been there for us in this time of grief.

I, personally, will never forget what each of you did and how you made Stephanie’s day so special. I am still in so much pain and grieving for her that I sometimes think I will never continue living a normal life. But with your help and God’s love I know that I will be okay.

Again, from my family to yours, thank you all so very much.

God Bless each and every one of you,

Nina Roof and family

Lutheran Church of Providence

November, 2019 Newsletter

Pastor’s Corner

Often in the church the seasons seem to drag by when we get to the Pentecost/Trinity part of the year. Everything is done in green and it seems to go on forever. Good News! The church year (which starts with the first Sunday in Advent) is almost over. For the next few weeks, the colors on the altar and pulpit will change as we see the color red for Reformation and white for All Saints’ Day.

For Lutherans the Reformation is a very important time when we return to what the Bible says and base our salvation on God’s great love for us and the gift of His Son to pay for all our sins. We don’t have to pay for it when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior because He died in our place and then rose again to give us eternal life by faith, trust and love of Him. We are truly Christ centered! I encourage all members to attend our worship celebrating the Reformation.

One week later we will celebrate All Saints’ Day when we remember those whose bodies have died before us and they were God fearing people. In our worship we sing about praising God with angels, archangels and all the company of heaven. Through faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, when our bodies die we will join the angels and saints before the throne of God and will be in His presence forevermore.

Many people grieve when their loved ones are called home, but we also rejoice at the homecoming awaiting them and us. Let us be ready at all times to meet our God when He calls us home.

Shortly after Reformation and All Saints we will enter into Advent ― a time to prepare for celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. This isn’t about shopping for gifts and decorating our homes but it’s about getting our entire lives ready for God’s gift to us of His Son Jesus Christ. Stores have sales but God’s gift is ours free of charge. How often do we think about what will happen when our bodies die? How often do we talk with God about returning to Him? I have never heard anyone say that they don’t care what comes next. Many people however have an inaccurate knowledge of God and of His great desire to have us with Him forever. God is love but He is also just. Knowing about Him isn’t enough we must also love Him and desire to be with Him whenever the opportunity arises. As Luther says: ‘We must fear, love and trust in God above all things.’

As we come into the celebrating season of the church year there will be many opportunities to share God’s love with others not only by what we say but also by what we do. Why not volunteer to be a part of the food bank or the quilters group? There are also opportunities for us to work closer with the preschool by reading to the children and by joining them in chapel every Tuesday at 10:00 AM. Don’t forget to join the book club and to invite your friends and neighbors to join you.

As you can see, a lot is happening during the late fall and winter seasons. Let’s reach out to others and encourage them to develop a relationship with Jesus as their Lord and Savior. May God bless us and keep us in His care.

In His service,

Pastor Weikart

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Lutherans Have Saints Look Around!

For All the Saints Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Hebrews 12:2 During the month of November, our thoughts literally turn heavenward. On November 1st, the church celebrates All Saints’ Day, a time when we rejoice in the hope we have as Christians that those who die in the faith still live in Christ.

As the month of November continues, we start to move into a time of the church year in which we hear readings about the end of time and the return of Christ. During November our minds are indeed turned heavenward, but we can also look to the saints all around us right here on earth. The scriptures say we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses in the faith (Hebrews 12). During Sunday morning worship, this is literally true. You are seated with Christians in front of you, behind you, and next to you. Consider one group of Christians in particular ― our elderly members. Many of our elderly members may not physically be with us on Sunday. Many may be homebound, in a hospital, or in a care facility; but that does not mean they are any less with us in the faith of Christ. These members are truly saints whom we should desire to emulate and respect. In the United States we live in a relatively youth-obsessed culture. We like our bodies to look and feel youthful. We generally look down on the aging process. Most of us groan when the wrinkles appear, and we moan when the aches get worse. But why should we look down on aging even with all its wrinkles and aches? Those lines and wrinkles are not signs of depleted youth. As Christians, we should see every line and wrinkle as the beauty mark of someone Christ has sustained in the faith over many years. As our bodies slow down we don’t have to grow angry that we can’t do the things we want to do. On the contrary, we can give thanks that Christ is drawing us closer to what He wants to do – give us eternal life. We have living saints among us who emulate faithfulness to Christ on a daily basis. Our elderly members are fellow Christians who have seen life, lived through what many of us are just now going through, and have come out the other end sustained by faith in Christ. We should strive to be like these living saints.

Take a moment and ask yourself what can I do at Lutheran Church of Providence to be a better Christian or bring a lost soul to know Jesus? Today is the day to volunteer to help bring in food for the Food Bank, sign up to cook a turkey for our Thanksgiving Church dinner, make a difference! After all, as Christians, shouldn’t we want to live lives of faith right now in this world, and ones that will be celebrated for all eternity with our living Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord, the author and perfecter of our faith.

A Child of God,

Roy Armstrong, Council President

FOOD PANTRY

   Thanksgiving is almost here which means that the Food Pantry is asking the congregation to help us fill 100 bags of food for our clients. The number of our families in need is increasing monthly. The following items will be needed: yams or sweet potatoes, boxed mashed potatoes, stuffing, canned gravy, cranberry jell or whole and money for turkeys.