Newsletter
March 19, 2023
St. Paul Lutheran LCMS
Julesburg, CO
970.474.2592
Web Site:www.stpauljulesburg.org
The Pathlight
Your word is a lamp to my feet and
a light to my path.
Zion Lutheran LCMS
Big Springs ,NE
308.289.5148
Ps. 119: 105
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03132023
Water(s)
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:10-14
Water is absolutely essential for life. The following is from, “Why Is Water so Essential for Life?” by Tia Ghose:
Water. It's found everywhere on Earth, from the polar ice caps to steamy geysers. And wherever water flows on this planet, you can be sure to find life. “When we find water here on Earth — whether it be ice-covered lakes, whether it be deep-sea hydrothermal vents, whether it be arid deserts — if there's any water, we've found microbes that have found a way to make a living there,” said Brian Glazer, an oceanographer at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who has studied astrobiology. That's why NASA's motto in the hunt for extraterrestrial life has been “follow the water.”
I’m not so sure about NASA’s motto about life elsewhere, but the importance of water couldn’t be more accurate. I would agree with saying it this way, “When it comes to the most important things in life, follow the water!” For life as we know it, water is essential. You can live many days without food, but you won’t live very long without water. Water is necessary for our bodies to operate the way it should. Water also cleans, water lubricates, and water is used to generate power. Our physical life depends on water. There is a multitude of reasons why God has blessed us with water.
Our Savior Jesus, God made flesh, who created water and those temporal blessings (John 1:1-3, 14), tells us that there is another water that matters even more. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the living water that gives eternal life to those who believe (John 7:38, 39). It’s the water that only He can give and that Holy Spirit then delivers to us the things of Christ (John 16:14), the “water” of His Word for eternal life, the “washing in His Name (the gift of Baptism), that washes away our sins (see John 3:5; 7:37-39; Ephesians 5:26).
Temporal water and His living water matter in life.
Jesus reminds us that one water matters for life now and forever; that’s the water of the Holy Spirit that Jesus gives through His Word. Whatever you might be facing today, make sure that you are physically prepared. More importantly, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit through God’s Holy Word and Sacraments, drink deeply from the eternal life-giving waters of grace in Christ in order to prepare yourself spiritually for the challenges of each day. Read and trust His word, drink deeply of His water for eternal life. Bring your concerns to Him in prayer. Those blessings will never fail to quench your soul’s thirst, especially when you needed the most.
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 Corinthians 13:12
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Reminder
Thrivent Members please direct your CHOICE DOLLARS
before they expire on Friday, March 31, 2023. Questions? Call Muriel Nelson
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Lenten Dinners
Note change
March 22 – Mike Michael
March 29 – Murl and Judy, Randy and Susie
“I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Psalm 91:2
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Fourth Sunday in Lent March 19, 2023
People endure debilitating disabilities – blindness, deafness - and these ailments are not punishments for sin. Without intervention, people in darkness and utter silence remain isolated. Jesus attends wholeheartedly to those who live in darkness and silence. He illuminates minds and hearts with faith, so that people would confess Him as Lord. He heals the blind so the people would see who He is!. Christ’s amazing miracles confound the arrogant and enlighten the repentant.
Order of Worship - Setting Four pg. 203 with Communion
Hymn #543 “What Wondrous Love Is This”
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 42:14-21
Epistle: Ephesians 5:8-14
Holy Gospel: John 9:1-41
Nicene Creed pg 206
Hymn #571 “God Loved the World So That He Gave”
Sermon
Offering
Prayer of the Church
Service of the Sacrament pg. 208
Hymns #636”Soul Adorn Yourself with Gladness”
#422 “On My Heart Imprint Your Image”
Lord’s Prayer
Benediction 212
Hymn # 918 “Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer”
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Servants at St. Paul ZiON
Ushers / Greeters – Chuck Juhl / Brad Ehmne Usher /Greeter
Organist – Jeanie Boehm Ryan Heidemann
Acolytes – Lauryn Lindsay / Emmalyn Kotch Altar Guild
Calendar Tonia and Danielle
St. Paul Zion
March 19 -– 8:00 Sunday School
9:00 Worship Service -C March 19 - 11:00 Worship
March 20 – 9:30 Bible Study
March 22 – 3:30 Midweek
4:15 Catechism March 23 – 9:30 Bible Study
6:00 Lenten Supper
7:00 Lenten Service
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