Your Weekly E-Newsletter -- Thursday February 22, 2024

Our New Testament lesson for this weekend is Romans 5:1-11. This devotion is from “Best-loved Passages of the Bible”.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

                                                                       Romans 5:1-4

“Access to the Throne of Grace”

Ask any up-and-coming sales person what she needs the most to make her deals, and she’ll reply, “That’s simple –- access!” To get ahead, you have to be able to get to the top, to access the decision maker – – the big cheese. If not, you’ll get the runaround.

The process of the Christian life revolves around access. Christians have access, says Paul, to the very grace of God! We stand in the throne room of grace before our God. Consider that location -- it is the Holy of Holies. And it is our home.

No, how did we get there? The door of access to the throne of grace is justification by faith. This is the doctrine Martin Luther called the “one solid rock.” Justification, Luther stated, is this: “By faith alone in Christ, without works, we are declared just and saved.” The action of Christ alone opens the door of access to the throne. All other doors are locked and shut! We stand in  grace through faith because of Christ. There is no stronger position in heaven or on earth.

Because our God has made grace accessible, we can rejoice through every trial and difficulty because our Hope in the glory of God is already sure. Life’s difficulties can be faced squarely when we stand in God’s accessible grace!

Dear Lord, thank You for the door of access to Your eternal grace. May I remain strong through trials, because of the grace in which I stand. Amen

Second Sunday in Lent

February 24-25, 2024

Would you like to get familiar with the modern songs used in our worship ahead of the busy weekend?

We have two options to listen to the upcoming weekend's hymns that aren't found in our hymnals. The worship song for February 24 - 25 is “Create in Me A Clean Heart"

Simply click this link to watch it on YouTube.

You can also find out more on their website: llbt.org

To support this important Mission of the Month, you may include it in your weekly offering envelope or designate the donation as "Mission of the Month" in your online giving.

The February focus of the Mission of the Month is support for Lutheran Bible Translators (LBT). We support the work of the Federwitz families involved in Bible Translation work in Ethiopia and Papua New Guinea.

Our monetary gifts in February will support bringing The Good News and literacy to those in great need of hope, love, peace and salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Please pray for all those involved in Lutheran Bible Translators.

Fifty-one years ago, Reverend Dale and Alvina Federwitz began their missionary career with LBT among the Mandigo people in Liberia. In 1980 they began their work translating the New Testament into the Kuwaa language. This was completed in 1988. They served as advisors and coordinators in Liberia and Cameroon until Dale's death in July of 2002. Alvina has continued to work with 16 language groups in Ghana.

As the four Federwitz chiildren finished their education in the United States, they, in turn, have worked as missionaries in West Africa and Papua, New Guinea. Nathan Federwitz is in the process of finishing his pilot training in North Carolina, following his father Jonathan's footsteps to be be a missionary pilot. And the beat goes on ...

Severe Weather Announcements

With winter in full swing, we are reminded that weather can definitely impact traveling to church. And with that, inclement weather could necessitate the cancelling of worship.

In the event this should happen, you will receive an e-mail stating that the church is closed. We will also be sharing this with local TV stations (WISN-TV 12 and FOX6) so that it will be included in their scrolling list and on their website of closures.

Women's Book Group

Monday, March 11 2024

12:30 - 2:00 p.m.

Media Room



"The Book of Lost Friends"

by Lisa Wingate

Bestselling author Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual “Lost Friends” advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as newly freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold away.

Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous era of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Hannie, a freed slave; Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now destitute plantation; and Juneau Jane, Lavinia’s Creole half sister. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following roads rife with vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of stolen inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and siblings before slavery’s end, the pilgrimage west reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the limitless frontiers of Texas and, improbably, hope.

Louisiana, 1987: For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debt—until she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi River town. Augustine, Louisiana, is suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled live oaks and run-down plantation homes lie the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.

Just a reminder that contributions to the NALC's 20/20 Vision Campaign need to be designated as "NALC" either on your giving envelope or on your check. If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Rooks at finance@calvarylc.com.

For an update on the NALC's 20/20 Vision campaign, click on the link below to watch an update from Bishop Selbo. This video highlights the work we are doing, the ways in which gifts to the initiative are already being used, and the impact future gifts will have in our shared witness and mission.

We invite you to provide

Hospitality Treats on Sunday

We invite you to stay after worship on Sunday mornings and enjoy fellowship time and a treat/cup of coffee in Fellowship Hall.

If you'd like to provide treats (donuts, bagels, etc.) for Sunday hospitality time, there is a sheet on the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall. You may bring the treats (six dozen) and drop them off in the kitchen, or simply add a “P” behind your name, pay $30 to the church office and the treats will be purchased for you. 

The sign up sheet for 2024 has been posted on the bulletin board.  Thank you for your support!

If you watch our services via the Live Stream, please take a minute to let us know. There is now a link called "Online Worship Attendance" on the page where you access each week's service.

We appreciate you taking the time to complete this each week. It helps us know that our Live Stream is being viewed and by whom. 

Thank you!

CALVARY LUTHERAN CHURCH www.calvarylc.com

Regular office hours are Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - noon 262.786.4010

Questions or comments? Email Sue Rowe at communications@calvarylc.com