Newsletter
June 15, 2025
St. Paul Lutheran LCMS
Julesburg, CO
970.474.2592
The Pathlight
Your Word Is A Lamp To My Feet A And Light To My Path.
Ps 119:105
Zion Lutheran LCMS
Big Springs, NE
308.289.5148
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sanctified to Be Holy
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17
When Moses came near the burning bush in Exodus 3, the Lord said to him, “Do not come near, take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” When the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord enthroned in glory in Isaiah 6, the angels sang out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
The meaning of those verses is that wherever the Lord is, there is holiness. Whatever He declares holy is holy because He said so. The problem for us is that whenever we read of God’s holiness in the Bible, we are reminded that apart from Him, we are unholy. And that is intentional. We have no holiness of our own so Moses was afraid. And as Isaiah confessed his sins, we do the same. We do so whenever we gather for the Divine Service. We confess that we are poor, miserable sinners and that we have sinned, that we are unholy in thought, word, and deed. That is what God’s Law has shown us.
Then the miraculous happens. God speaks His holy Word in Absolution to forgive all our sin. God does this through the pastor who is called and ordained into the office of the holy ministry to be a servant of the Word. In the Divine Service, God who is holy declares unholy sinners to be holy in His name. Again, in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, you are washed and baptized into the name of the holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Jesus’ innocence and sacrificial death is credited to you. You stand now in holiness before God who is holy. And in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, you receive Jesus’ Body and Blood for forgiveness, life, and salvation.
oes our holy Lord do all of this? By his holy Word, just as Jesus prayed in John 17, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” To sanctify is to make and declare something holy which was not. That’s exactly what our Lord Jesus prays for and what God does. Through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, God gives us a holiness that is not our own. God’s holiness is always received from God (downward), not achieved by us (upward).
The next time you read or hear God’s Word, remember that through His Word God is sanctifying you. When you fear your sin and death, do not be afraid. You are holy in Jesus Christ. His Word has declared you to be!
Pastor Christensen
For now, we see in a mirror dimly but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 1 Cor. 13:12
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lutheran Worship Service Book
Order of Worship
HYMN # 498 “Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest”
LITURGY pg.184 Divine Service (setting Three) with Communion
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION pg.184
INTROIT (See Bulletin Insert)
SALUTATION and COLLECT pg. 189
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
EPISTLE: Acts 2: 14a, 22-36
HOLY GOSPEL: John 8: 48-59
NICENE CREED pg.191
HYMN of THE DAY #822 “Alleluia, Let Praises Ring”
SERMON
OFFERING
OFFERATORY pg.192
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT pg.194
DISTRIBUTION HYMN
HYMN #624 “The Infant Priest Was Holy Born”
BENEDICTION pg.202
CLOSING HYMN # 507 “Holy, Holy, Holy”
SILENT PRAYER
Today’s Servants
St.Paul
Ushers/Greeters- Craig Nicolaus/Rex Nicolaus
Organist-Jeanie Boehm
Zion
Usher/Greeter-Judy Soper
Altar Guild-Jodi & Shelle, Organist-Jeanie Boehm
St. Paul Calendar
June 16- 4:00PM Organist Meeting
7:00PM Council Metting
June 22- 8:00AM Bible Study
9:00AM Worship Service
Zion News and Notes
Zion Calendar
June 21-Garage/Bake Sale
June 22-11:00AM Worship Service
Zion Burrito Fundraiser for the month of June. Contact ShelleHeidemann (308) 289-5148 or Jodi Christensen (308) 464-1017 if you are interested in breakfast burritos or beef and beans.
Garage Sale and Bake Sale will be on June 21, 2025. All donated items
are welcome. We would also appreciate your cooking talents for
the bake sale.
The Power of Small Acts
"And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward." —Matthew 10:42
It had been one of those weeks where exhaustion settles deep into your bones. I was standing in line at a coffee shop, lost in thought, when I noticed a man ahead of me patting his pockets, his brow furrowed. A moment later, he sighed. He was short on change, and the weight of embarrassment was written all over his face.
Then, quietly and without hesitation, the woman behind him reached forward, handed the cashier a few dollars, and said, “I’ve got it.”
It wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t meant to be life changing. But in that instant, you could see the shift in the man’s posture, the relief washing over him, his shoulders lifting just a little.
He hesitated before saying, “You didn’t have to do that.”
She just smiled. “I know. But I wanted to.”
I walked out of that coffee shop thinking about how often we overlook the power of small moments. We tend to think that serving God requires something big—grand gestures, deep sacrifice. But that woman reminded me that sometimes, the most meaningful acts are the quiet ones, the simple ones. A kind word, an unexpected grace, a moment of love given freely.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:42 that even something as small as a cup of cold water given in love is never overlooked in His kingdom. What if our greatest impact isn’t found in the extraordinary, but in the everyday moments we often dismiss?
So, this week, pay attention. The opportunities are all around us—to reflect Christ’s love in ways that seem insignificant but might mean everything to someone else.
Prayer: Lord, give us eyes to see the quiet ways we can share Your love. Let us be quick to offer kindness, slow to overlook the small moments, and always willing to serve—even when it seems simple. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Brain Teaser 3
Find all the books of the bible in the paragraphs below See how many of the 59 you can find.
My name is Samuel Levit. I customized my name because people made remarks about me being related to the furniture company Sam Levitz. My son is named Odus. Don’t ask me to explain his name, the story is too complex. Odus likes music. The other day he told me he had written the song of songs. He acts like it’s the next big hit, but it left me only lukewarm. I hope he finds something else to do. I also have a daughter named Diana. She is looking so hard for a job. A Diahann Brewster called yesterday to interview my daughter. Two women, with basically the same first name, talking together on the phone, that was a most confusing conversation let me tell you! The Brewsters own a tax preparation service next door to the Francophile Monastery. Father Eugene, Sister Mary Francis, and Johnson & Johnson are clients of theirs. Father Eugene is from Romanshire, Northern Ireland. He said he studied Greek in Corinth. I answered that he is a real pro! Verbs and nouns in the Greek are difficult to learn.
I asked Mr. Brewster for tax advice. He said that tips, alms, and donations were deductible, I just need a receipt. My brother Philipp asked if travel expenses were deductible. He just came back from the Holy land. He toured Judea. The tour guide,
Timothy, said that it usually costs a lot of money to take side trips unexpectedly. The tour group had asked if they could see the historic sites of the Galatians, Colossians, and the Thessalonians. The tour guide said no, but the Ephesian site is open. Philipp said a hag gained access to his travel bag. “Philipp,” I answered, “did she get your camera?” He said he had it with him or she would have. Philipp said he would be in a jam, especially with mom, if that lady had taken the camera. That’s because it belongs to her.
Philipp told me about a souvenir shop he visited. He said he saw a pez, rabbi candy dispenser. Imagine that! The woman at the counter was named Lisa. I, ah, think that was her name. Anyway, she told my brother those aren’t the ones she ordered. She had ordered a rabbi statue along with pez dispensers, but the manager, Joe, let the stock boy practice ordering that day. “Do you like them,” she asked. “The company said I can reorder any number should the need arise.” Lisa said the rabbi pez dispenser was endemic; a holy man designed them. I believe the holy man is legitimate, she explained. He has a very mild persona, humble from head to toe.
The souvenir shop has books about the different battles of the Holy Land. One particular book was about Jere, MIA. He went missing about 586 BC. Lamentations over his disappearance could be heard for miles, or so the story goes. I heard it straight from a Lachish citizen. One hemi-Ahmadiyan Muslim was there, and he verified the story of Jere. Jerusalem, at the world’s most fought over section of land in human history, has a violent past. According to prophecy, the future doesn’t look good either. My brother Philipp said he had a revelation, and everything will turn out fine in the end. He asked me if I believed him. I said, “nope, terminate this charade right now!” He said, “It’s the truth, read it for yourself!”
Lisa, the souvenir shop attendant, has a sister who works for the Chronicle. She is a photojournalist. Her name is Jo. Nahant, Massachusetts is where she lives, but she travels a lot for the newspaper. Egypt had a big story break last month. The editor wanted the best her paper could send, so they sent Jo. Shu, an Egyptian god of the air, was up in arms over smog in Cairo. All they got was a picture of a dust storm. I think it was a hoax. I told my friend Dan; I eliminated Cairo from my travel itinerary.
Philipp wanted to take a cruise from Finland to Scotland, over Christmas. I protested, “We’ll, freeze!” “Kiel Canal is the way through Denmark,” he said. “It will be fun, and I can catch up on my physics paper while we are at sea,” he said. “Now, let’s see where did I leave off? Oh yes, the deuteron.” “O, my Philipp. You’re a sick
man. A crowd of judges wouldn’t convict me if I tossed you overboard.” Well, we went on the cruise and just like I said, I froze! “Chari! Ahoy, Chari! Wait for me,” a voice said. It was the cruise line dance instructor. She was late to port and almost missed the ship. The ship’s chef happened to be a college friend of mine, Gilliam Eccles. I, as a tester of food, got half price on my cruise tickets for my services. That made the trip more worthwhile. Ship security was provided by the National Intelligence Authority. Zeph, a NIA hand-picked agent, was head of security. H.A. Bakk, Ukrainian composer and conductor, personally headed a shipboard concert on the final day of the cruise. It was the highlight of the trip! Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
Everyone loves to laugh… even in church! The Lord created humor, so the church should be a place that is full of joy and laughter.
Scripture Passage: Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Psalm 126:2
Reflection: One Sunday morning, a new pastor delivered his very first sermon. He was determined to make a good impression, but as the sermon stretched on, the congregation began to get restless. A little boy in the front row, tired of waiting, finally stood up and shouted, “Are you done yet?!”
The congregation erupted in laughter, and even the pastor couldn’t help but chuckle. With a big smile, he said, “Well, I guess I’m done now!”
It’s moments like these, when even the most serious of situations get interrupted by a little humor, that remind us that laughter is a gift from God. Just as Psalm 126:2 tells us, laughter fills our mouths and brings songs of joy to our hearts.
Sometimes, a cheerful heart is exactly what we need in worship. After all, a merry heart is good medicine, and it’s good to remember that church isn’t just about solemnity, it’s about joy.
Moral Lesson: Laughter is part of worship too! God loves to see His people enjoy His presence with joy and gladness.
Prayer: Dear God, thank You for the gift of laughter and for joyful moments that remind us to enjoy life. Help us to worship You with cheerful hearts and embrace the joy of the Lord. Amen.