Verbal Announcements
As We Gather
Stories of God’s dealings with His people can never be sanitized or idealized. The Lord finds His people to be stubborn, rebellious, and forgetful. In the history of Israel is the pattern for God’s mercy to the Church and the reason why, when we gather, we recount God’s mighty acts of deliverance. The Lord works to forgive us, restore us, and remind us of what He has done to save us. Now more than ever, we are gravely tempted to doubt, despair, and be disillusioned. We see a world filled with even greater tragedy and sorrow than Herod visited upon the firstborn sons of Bethlehem. But even in death, they testify to the Lord’s gracious will and His power to rescue, redeem, and comfort His people with His grace in Christ, our Savior.
Holy Communion
The Lord’s Supper is celebrated today with the confession that we receive the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, in, with and under (a way of saying that Christ is fully present in) the bread and wine. Christ's presence gives us the assurance that our sins are forgiven and to nourish our faith. This is a solemn celebration, “For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves” (1Corinthians 11:29). The Lord’s Supper is meant for our good, not to our judgment. But, before presenting yourself ask these questions:
1. Am I sorry for my sins and need forgiveness?
2. Did Christ die and rise to forgive my sins?
3. Am I receiving the very body and blood of Christ Jesus?
If your answers are yes, you are welcome. If you are not a member of a LCMS church, or have further questions about The Lord’s Supper, please speak with the pastor.
Stewardship
Gal. 4:4 – “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.”
Jesus was born under the law so that He might fulfill the law in our place. His perfect righteousness is credited to us. And it is this free forgiveness of sins and this crediting of righteousness that sets us free to follow our Lord in godly living. Since we are freed from the law’s condemnation, we are freed from any mercenary attitudes. Now that the Lord has shown His love to us in saving us, we freely show our thanks to Him in generosity, humility, and kindness.
Lutherans For Life
“We know that there will always be changes in laws and politics, and we can only change that as best as we can. The comfort that we do know is that the Father does not change like shifting shadows. In today’s world, changes are swift and inevitable, but our faith and trust in our unchanging God are the comforts that sustain us!” Diane Albers, President of Lutherans For Life – A Life Quote from Lutherans For Life • lutheransforlife.org
Altar Flowers
The Altar Flower Chart is posted on the bulletin board in the Narthex by the drinking fountains. Check chart for donation opportunities and availability.
Children Sunday School
This week in Sunday School our lesson focuses on the visit of the Wise Men, or Magi—an event known as Epiphany, when God revealed that Jesus is the Savior for the whole world by drawing foreigners from the East to worship Him, even using the wicked King Herod in the process. Epiphany is that spiritual “Aha!” moment when we recognize Jesus as God’s Son who came for all people. Just as the star led the Wise Men to Christ, God’s Word leads us to Jesus and helps us see Him with eyes of faith. Because this visit likely took place weeks or months after His birth, this lesson works well after Christmas or as the final lesson before it.
Youth Group
Charitable Contributions Tax Reminder
Thank you for supporting the mission and work of your congregation. To ensure your contribution is counted for this year's charitable giving, we must receive it by December 31st.
Once you reach age 70½, you can take advantage of Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) to reduce your IRA balance and future Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). In 2025, you may donate up to $108,000 directly from your IRA to qualified charities without any tax consequences on the withdrawal. If you are already of RMD age, these donations count toward your RMDs and remain tax-free.
Flower Chart
A new Altar Flower Calendar is posted on the bulletin board in the Narthex by the drinking fountains. January dates are available, and each arrangement costs $25.00. If you would like to take home your donated altar flowers after the worship service, please circle your name on the calendar. Thank you for helping to beautify our sanctuary.
Military Love & Care Bags
As a church community grounded in compassion and service, we have a special opportunity to come together and make a real difference in the lives of local military families who are facing financial hardship. For the month of November, we are requesting baby formula. Monetary donations are also welcome.
Mite Boxes
Perhaps inspired by the various "cent" or "mite" societies of the early 1800s, the Woman's Mission to Woman urged members in its first circular letter in 1871 to use their new Mite Box to raise funds. The entire family was encouraged to contribute. The first Sunday of the month is when we receive your collected mites in the LWML Mite Box
Properties Board Meeting
For the maintenance and repair of the congregation’s facilities; to enable the congregation and its members to carry out our Christ centered ministries. Meets in the Library. For more information contact Jeff Adams
The Way Cafe
An in-person devotion with Pastor Eric Klemme, designed to strengthen your relationship with God through Scripture, song, prayer, fellowship, and biblical insight. The devotion returns on Tuesday, 6 January, the Day of Epiphany, and resumes its regular Wednesday schedule the following week. Come and be replenished, renewed, and fueled to live a life of faith. You are welcome just as you are. God is here, ready to meet you and connect with you in a fresh way.
Board of Elders Meeting
Meeting with the Called Ministers and the Board of Elders to discuss, plan, and implement strategies to carry out corporate worship, and addressing the spiritual health of the congregation.
For more information contact Joe Staton
Sharing and Caring
A ministry supported by our congregation through donations of non-perishable food items, placed in the collection basket in the inner Narthex. Sharing and Caring serves individuals and families in need by providing food, clothing, and emergency assistance. It brings hope, encouragement, and practical support to those experiencing hardship or crisis.
Board Of Outreach Meeting
Philemon 4-6. The Board of Outreach has a two fold mission: To Communicate the Gospel of Christ through the members of our congregation and in the endeavor to identify the congregation with the Gospel in the local community. Meets with Pastor Klemme in the Cafe.
American Heritage Girls Troop 1517
American Heritage Girls (AHG) was founded by a group of parents wanting a faith-based, scout-type character development program for their daughters in 1995. The AHG Program is dedicated to the mission of building women of integrity through service to God, family, community and country. AHG girls across the nation and the globe participate in badge programs, service projects, leadership opportunities, and outdoor experiences, all with an emphasis on Christian values and family involvement.
For more information contact Adrienne Cook.
Council Meeting
Let us do everything with love. The Church Council is a gathering of elected advisers who serve and guide the ministries of the congregation toward our given mission. (Matthew 28:19-20). We meet in the library.
Benevolence
Support our Benevolence because extending God’s Love goes beyond our walls. Our mission doesn’t stop at our front door. Through Benevolence, we join a tradition that reflects Christ’s love in action. Together, we are the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. Your generosity brings hope, healing, and the Good News of the Gospel to those who need it most. (Online to donate: https://www.shalimar.church/human-care)
Marionette Puppets
In an extraordinary lesson of forgiveness there once was a man who could do nothing for himself and was dependent on his friends. Some saw this as God’s judgment upon him. Jesus forgives him of his sins to the astonishment of the teachers of the Law. And then, Jesus heals him.
Festival Of St. Stephen, Martyr
The Church honor's saints for showing us how living out faith can be done.
The Christ is born in the land of Judah, but His own people will not receive Him. As it was in the days of Joash the king, so it is also in the days of Herod and Pilate. The Lord “sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord … but they would not pay attention” (2Chronicles 24:19). As Zechariah was being stoned, he cried out, “May the Lord see and avenge!” (2Chronicles 24:22). But the infant Jesus has come to save and to forgive.
Today, the Church remembers St. Stephen, the first martyr after Christ’s ascension. His confession recalled the stiff-necked, uncircumcised hearts and ears of Judah that would not receive the Righteous One (Acts 7:51-52). But as his body was being stoned and his spirit received by the Lord Jesus, Stephen cried, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:59-60), bearing witness to the One who also said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). On the second day of Christmas, our thoughts are already directed to Christ’s atoning death to save rebels like us, and to the vision Stephen saw: Heaven is open to us, Christ is reigning at God’s right hand, and no sin, death or foe can stop Him.
Source: LCMS Calendar of Feasts and Festivals.
Festival of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist
The Church honor's saints for showing us how living out faith can be done.
St. John the Evangelist put Christmas in one verse: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Not martyred but still a witness, John was exiled to Patmos and died an old man, according to tradition. He bore witness “to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw” (Revelation 1:2). Above all, he was an eyewitness of Christ who proclaims to us what he saw and heard concerning the “word of life” that was “made manifest” (1John 1:1-3). “And we know that his testimony is true” (John 21:24). The readings today include John’s testimony of Christ’s atoning death and His third resurrection appearance (John 21:14). On the third day of Christmas, we find joy and gladness with John and all the apostles that “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous,” who is “the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1John 2:1-2).
Source: LCMS Calendar of Feasts and Festivals.
The Holy Innocents, Martyrs
The Holy Innocents, Martyrs
“A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children” (Jeremiah 31:15). Herod rages and sends to kill all boys two years and younger (Matthew 2:16), desperate to destroy the newborn King of kings. The Church remembers these innocent victims as martyrs. They died for the One who came to die for them. This dark commemoration bears witness to the cruelty of sinful men and the world’s hatred of Christ, who has sanctified our fragile life even from His conception and birth. But the boy who escaped Bethlehem’s bloody streets unscathed went on to face thorns, nails and spear for them and for us. He is the Lamb whose name is written with the Father’s name on the foreheads of His baptized saints (Revelation 14:1). By His death, He has redeemed an inheritance for Himself and brought peace at last by His blood. On the fourth day of Christmas, we sing “a new song” of the Lamb, of Christ the true martyr, whose death testifies that our redemption is won. We “follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Revelation 14:3,4), for He will bring our tears to an end.
Source: Lutheran Calendar of Saints
Circumcision of our Lord
Jesus Blesses Us with His Name and Saves Us with His Blood
Our newborn God keeps the Law for us and brings Abraham’s promises to their fulfillment when He is circumcised. It is there that the name above all names is “bestowed on him” (Philippians 2:9), “the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb”: Jesus, which means “the Lord saves” (Luke 2:21). He sheds the first drops of His precious blood in accordance with this name and in anticipation of His cross, “for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The law’s captivity gives way to the freedom of faith in Christ Jesus, who cuts a new covenant in His blood to be received by faith, whether male or female, Jew or Greek (Galatians 3:23-28). His name is given to us in Holy Baptism, and we are made sons of God and “heirs according to promise,” true offspring of Abraham by faith (Galatians 3:29). Eight days after the celebration of our Lord’s birth, a new “Year of our Lord” is begun in Jesus’ holy name and with His benediction. Jesus is the Lord, and by this name we are blessed (Numbers 6:22-27).
Family Life Minister Curtis' Anniversary (17)
With gratitude and joy we give thanks this day for Family Life Minister Curtis who was commissioned into public ministry at Christ Lutheran Church, Topeka Kansas in 2004. We thank the Lord for the work of commissioned ministers who assist & support the congregation and the Pastoral Office. God has given his Church ministers who nourish Christ's people with the teaching of His Word. We praise God that He has permitted His servant Curtis to work in His Church and blessed Curtis’ ministry among us.
Curtis has served God through a Call from Good Shepherd since 2009 as our Family Life Minister. Curtis is a certified Directory of Christian Education (DCE) who has a degree in Theology from Concordia University, Seward Nebraska.
Commemoration of J. K. Wilhelm Loehe, Pastor
The Church honor's saints for using their gifts for the Kingdom of God. In so doing, it strengths faith insofar as it demonstrates God's Grace. The inspiration that the Saints offers is in showing us how living out our faith can be done.
“Although he never left Germany, Johann Konrad Wilhelm Loehe, born in Fuerth in 1808, had a profound impact on the development of Lutheranism in North America. Serving as pastor in the Bavarian village of Neuendettelsau, he recognized the need for workers in developing lands and assisted in training emergency helpers to be sent as missionary pastors to North America, Brazil, and Australia. A number of the men he sent to the United States became founders of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Through his financial support, a theological school was established in Fort Wayne, Ind., and a teachers' institute in Saginaw, Mich. Loehe was known for his confessional integrity and his interest in liturgy and catechetics. His devotion to works of Christian charity led to the establishment of a deaconess training house and homes for the aged.
Source: LCMS Calendar of Commemorations