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“To Rise From Sin”

The Easter season is indeed a

joyful time of the year as we

celebrate the anniversary of our

Savior’s resurrection. He who

died for us rose again and lives

forevermore!

What greater joy for us than to

know that our Redeemer lives!

That joy comes from

comprehending by faith the

wonder of God’s love and the

forgiveness that is ours in Christ

Jesus. So we know a great sense

of relief from guilt and we know

peace and hope, but do we fully

realize the power of the

resurrection?

We often speak of the weakness

of our sinful flesh. What we

really mean is that we are giving

in to our fleshly desires. We all

too often depend upon our

strength to resist sin; or, worse,

we fall prey to the popular idea

that the best way to get rid of a

temptation is to give in to it. That

is exactly how helpless we are on

our own, battling sin in our lives.

Without Jesus,

we were totally sinful.

But then Jesus came into the

world and lived the perfect,

sinless life we could not live, and

offered His holy precious blood

for us and for our sin. On the

third day He “was raised from

the dead by the glory of the

Father.”

Christ’s victory over death is also

His victory over sin and its

power. As we are called to faith

in Jesus as our crucified and risen

Lord, we are granted newness of

life.

Jesus’ death counts

as our death for sin. Jesus’

resurrection brings us new life.

By the Spirit’s working in our

hearts, we are enabled to live in

the power of the resurrection.

The Apostle Paul expounds a few

verses later in this sixth chapter of

Romans, “Now if we died with

Christ, we believe that we shall

also live with Him . . . Likewise

you also, reckon yourselves to be

dead indeed to sin, but alive to

God in Christ Jesus our

Lord” (Romans 6:8,11).

Perhaps we need to give some

thought to being dead to sin,

and what this means. It involves

a conscious sanctified state of

mind: we need to think about

what we are doing. People

sometimes consciously think

about leaving others out of their

lives—those others are “dead to

them.” This is what we ought to

do with sin, not people. We will

not allow sin a place in our lives.

This is especially important for

those sins which have been a

problem in our lives. The devil

would tempt us, and our flesh

would find these sins appealing

instead of disgusting, but the

Spirit of our Risen Lord would

declare us free from slavery to

the lusts of the flesh. By the

power of the resurrection, we can

say “NO!” to sin, and “YES!” to

righteousness!

Sin is death, but we have died

with Christ, Who also rose again

and lives forevermore.

We have been raised

to newness of life.

Let us live in the power of the

resurrection, so that each and

every day may be lived in true

repentance, confessing our sins

where we have fallen short and

striving for every thought, word,

and action to be driven by the

love of Christ.

Who died for us and rose again,

Who is our life

now and forever.

Christ is risen!!!+

Pastor Allan Reed

May, 2020

The Caller The Caller The Caller The Caller ---- May 2020May 2020May 2020May 2020

3rd

“Rescue, Test, Rest” Speaker: Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler

God doesn’t have to figure out something about you that He doesn’t already know. He doesn’t have to

figure out if He loves you or if He’s committed to you or if you’re worth it. God’s not testing you to

figure something out about you He didn’t already know. He’s testing you so that you can figure out

something about Him that you didn’t know, so that you can figure out that you can trust Him.

(Exodus 16)

10th “Stand a Little Taller” Speaker: Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler (Exodus 18)

17th “Words Matter” Speaker: Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler (Exodus 19)

24th “TBD” Speaker: Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler

31st “TBD” Speaker: Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler

Please be at church: 15 minutes before service.

IF you cannot find anyone to help you out by exchanging,

you may call our church office: 1.320.328.5522.

&

The first two Sundays in May for certain will be live video recording services.

Further than that, we will need to wait and see.

May

3rd Ushers, Cole Duehn, Abigail Radke; Acolytes, Haley Korson, Landon Matheny

10th Ushers, Kaleb Templin, Brysen Sondergaard; Acolytes, Luke Radke, Jackson Mackenthun

17th Ushers, Evan Battcher, Morgan Chmielewski; Acolytes, Darrin Uecker, Kiley McDonald

24th

Ushers, Megan Becker, Jessica Headlee; Acolytes, Mason Bussler, Kamrie Meuer

31st Ushers, Heather Benson, Jasmine Knick; Acolytes, Callie Klabunde, Bradlee Nordby

June

7th Ushers, Christian Chmielewski, Dylan Kucera; Acolytes, Caleb Lindeman, Autumm Schuette

14th Ushers, Michael Headlee, Ashley Ribar; Acolytes, Brianna Matheny, Savanna Sweely

LHM Speaker: Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler

Fed by the Father—

God loves his little birds; for all; his tender care he shows; a single sparrow cannot fall but its Creator

knows. …

God loves each little bird; but still more tender is his care for children who obey his will,

than for the fowls of the air. —Anonymous, The NewsletterNewsletter


Mission Statement of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Brownton

“Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church is a fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ seeking to nurture

individuals and families in their Christian faith, teaching them a caring ministry to each other, our

community and the world by sharing the message of Jesus through word and deed.”

Ways for you to continue your contributions!

Online Giving: access our website www.immanuellutheranbrownton.org you will notice Home Staff

Services Education Gallery Events Online Giving and Ministries—click on the online giving and a

form appears for you to fill out and indicate where you wish your contributions donated. There is a

small fee for this but if you indicate a monthly contribution, it is more cost effective.

While you are there, on our website, the church calendar and The Caller for you to click on and access

under the Events tab; and recently the church bulletin pdf which is the bulletin to be used for each

Sunday when we are not able to attend worship services. You may download it or print from your

computer. This is useful when following along with Pastor Reed in the reading of the Psalm, Collect of

the Day and the Scripture Readings.

For the month of May, we are including birthdays and wedding anniversaries.

After we get back to “normal” church bulletin printing, they will be included in that printing.

May 1st thru May 31st

Birthdays

Anice Selle, Zakary Neubarth; Barbara Henke, Brett Klabunde, Milena Werner; Morris Gasow, Larry

Hoffman; Spencer Glaeser, Dylan Kucera; Marie Henke, Judith Hahn, Riley Bussler, Layla Nordby;

Mary Hoffman, Mary Klabunde; Gary Ahlbrecht, Becky Rickert, Terrie Erickson, Alyssa Zellmann,

Kiera Schuette; Taylor Schuette; Ethel Klepel, Kim Schuette; Joy Draeger, Dale Todnem, Kevin Boese,

Brock Zimmerman; Kiley McDonald; Paige Sikkila; Kara Guggisberg; Myra Scharpe, Dalilah

Mackenthun, Evelyn Buckentin; Jasmyne Steinberg; Deloris Rennecke, Roger Draeger, Jaden Uecker,

Brysen Sondergaard; Ronald Von Berge; Valeria Uecker; Tamera Kucera; Janice Hansch, Lindsay

Miller; Deborah Zellmann, Jilann Paehlke, Lane Miller; Karen Schuette; Addison Radke; David Geier,

Wayne Rennecke; Carolyn Westphal; Noreen Elstad, Nicole Mrkvicka, Evan Battcher

Wedding Anniversaries

James, Robin Sikkila; Leif, Angela Silfverston; Mark, Holly Pollmann; Ronald, Jeanie Von Berge;

Clyde, Julie Zieman, Nathan, Stacy Zellmann; Randall, Cynthia Lindeman; Jacob, Jennifer Knick;

Troy, Nicole Mrkvicka; Nathan, Marie Zimmerman; Roger, Joy Draeger

The Lutheran Witness Subscription

Your subscription to The Lutheran Witness is due for renewal. If you wish to continue or even if you

would like to add a subscription, the cost is $19.68 for the year, which includes the 2020 District News

Insert. We will need payment by Monday, May 25th. Either send check to the church or hand deliver it

to the church office in an envelope clearly marked The Lutheran Witness. [Please note that the June/

July issue is a combined edition so there are (11) magazines mailed, but billing is figured for 12 months.


Stewardship “A Church Family” Stewardship “A Church Family” Stewardship “A Church Family” Stewardship “A Church Family”

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod defines stewardship:

“Christian stewardship is the free and joyous activity of the child of God

and God’s family, the church, in managing all of life and life’s resources

for God’s purposes.”

Maturing stewards do the right thing for the right reasons.

Our Savior calls us to follow

Him in generosity. “For I have

given you an example, that you

also should do just as I have

done to you.” (John 13:15)

We cannot give our lives for the

salvation of the world, of

course. Praise God – that job’s

already done! But with hearts

full of thanksgiving for what

Jesus has given us, we can

follow Jesus’ example of

generous giving. And this is

not merely an example alone.

It’s also our Lord’s command.

“The one who contributes, (let

him give) in generosity.”

(Rom. 12:8)

So, when we give to help others

who are in need, and when we

bring offerings to the Lord, we

should strive to heed His

command and follow the

pattern He has established for

us. Jesus did not give us

leftovers. He gave His best.

So, we should not give leftovers,

either, but the first and best of

what He has given us. Jesus did

not give as an afterthought,

but according to the plan of

salvation God established from

the foundation of the world.

So, when it comes to our

offerings to the Lord, we should

make a thoughtful plan to give

generously, in proportion to the

way He has blessed us. Like the

Macedonian Christians, who

gave according to their ability –

and even beyond their ability

(2 Cor. 8:3) – we can and

should give a generous portion

of the income that God

provides us to honor the Lord.

So also, we should give freely,

just as Jesus gave freely for us.

There is no compulsion

involved in our works of love

and our offerings to the Lord.

Nor do we give grudgingly.

We should give freely and

cheerfully because we want to

out of thanksgiving. “Each as

he purposes in his heart,” as

the Lord says. (2 Cor. 9:7)

There is no New Testament

ceremonial law involved here.

Rather, we are free to give as

generously as our Savior has

given for us.

In the same way, our Lord

teaches us to give generously

out of love – love for Him and

for our neighbor. Genuine love

is always love in deed (1 John

3:18), love such as Jesus

showed us all. It is love that

sees our neighbor in need and

gives generously to help him. It

is love that hears the Word of

the Lord and does what it says.

If we truly love, we give

generously. If we give without

love, our giving is not truly

following Jesus.

Finally, we follow Jesus in

generosity when we give for a

good purpose to thank the Lord

and support His gospel ministry

and other works of mercy. The

people of Israel gave generously

for the service of God’s gospel

purposes, to construct and

support the operation of the

tabernacle. For that was the

place where the Lord received

the Old Testament sacrifices,

through which He bestowed the

forgiveness of sins on His

people. So, they gave

abundantly – so abundantly

that they had to be told to stop

giving. (Ex. 36:5-6)

In the same way, we should

bring generous offerings to

support the Lord’s work of

bestowing His gifts of

forgiveness, life, and salvation

in our congregations through

the preaching and teaching of

His Word, Baptism, and the

Lord’s Supper. We should

support the Lord’s work of

caring for those who are poor

and needy.

Our Savior calls us to follow His

example in generous giving.

Let us then, with thankful

hearts, rededicate ourselves to

following Him in generosity.

What is stewardship?

Stewardship is not just raising

funds; It’s raising Christians.

Stewardship is not a matter of

budgets; It’s a matter of faith.

A Long and Overdue Note! from Immanuel’s, Pastor Reed

I want to put out a BIG Thank

You to everyone who has been

helping to produce and

distribute our worship services

from the sanctuary! Without

their help this could not be

taking place.

I know many of you have

appreciated the Facebook worship

services, but the future of being

able to do Facebook Live Sunday

services, after this crisis has ended,

will depend upon the purchase of

some new equipment and

reconfiguring our system in the

balcony. Also future volunteers

will be needed to handle that

production.

Right now we have the space in the

sanctuary and the time to make all

this work.

You might be noticing the pew

cushions. They are in place to help

absorb sound to reduce echoing in

an empty sanctuary (an idea of our

deacons). Also, the deacons came

up with the idea of running new

wire bringing a speaker from the

narthex down to the foot of the

chancel where we broadcast the

Facebook services. That seems to

have improved the sound quality.

Many other details have been

worked out in being able to do this

along the way. A lot of work was

put in during the end of March

and early April to make all of this

possible.

Other areas pf the church (chapel

and old library room) have been

converted temporarily into studio

areas. Vicki uses the old library

room to broadcast her preschool

class work to Noah’s Ark students

and their families. Much time is

put into preparation and

production of these lessons.

I make use of the chapel and other

areas of the church for my daily

devotions and weekly

confirmation bible study videos

which I prepare and produce

myself with my iPad.

So that you may know and thank

them as I do, here are the names

of those who since March 16th

have volunteered their time,

during the week and on Sundays,

to carry on the Lord’s ministry in

our congregation.

Karen Buckentin, accompanist;

DuWayne Paehlke, balcony

camera; Victoria Sweely,

Facebook Live iPad; Doug Fegley,

Brett Klabunde, Joe Schuch,

Brian Zellmann, Al Buckentin,

Mark Pollmann, all deacons and

sound/computer. Matt Buckentin,

plays dvd on Mediacom and RS

Fiber.

Also, a few acolytes and a number

of musicians/singers who have and

will be sharing their talents: Levi

Silfverston, Ethan Berge, Luke

Radke, Aubrey Lindeman,

Savanna Sweely, Abby Radke,

Wayne Johnson, Al Buckentin.

Naming others, Tom Heil, who

during the first week of the

“chaos” (haha) was available to

assist in figuring out what we were

going to do. Jocelynn Buckentin

for her technology advice and

encouragement to me in

developing new skills in this techno

era.

I want to throw in a thank you to

my 7th & 8th grade confirmation

students and parents who have

seen to the completion of their

classroom work! On to

Confirmation Sunday! (We pray

that can happen soon!)

Also, to June Bussler, Mark &

Barb Mathwig and Donna Kohls

who have been taking care of the

contributions each week.

And a thanks to my fellow staff

members, Diane Harbarth and

Vicki Herrmann for their abilities

to adapt to the circumstances

which encountered us. Plus, I

would have went stir crazy without

some other people around on a

daily basis! Haha

I pray that I haven’t forgotten

anyone. Much has happened and

there is much to be thankful for!

Christ’s richest blessings to each

and everyone of the members and

friends of Immanuel Lutheran

Church who continue to support

the wonderful love and mercy of

our Lord Jesus Christ!!!+

Pastor Reed

All photos taken by Pastor Reed.


WHAT! No Garden Produce? Remember, since you are probably waiting to

see what the weather is going to bring, we are also waiting to see what ideas

we can utilize for our usual garden produce table! Let us plan for the best!

Plant extra if you can—-because we know that donations to the Food Shelf

are very much needed. As for now, we will wait and see what the future

brings to us—-we may be able to have our garden produce table when the

items are ready. Be patient and other arrangements may need to be made!

Time will tell. ...

When we started planning our 125th Anniversary who would have

thought that we would have been blind-sighted by COVID19.

As I write this, we would have been celebrating all those married in

Immanuel over the years this past Sunday. That is not to happen

currently, but sometime in the future. We are just going to have to be

patient and wait until we can celebrate once again with our families

and friends of the congregation.

We will not be holding our May 2020 Anniversary meeting. As stated

before, we can always have the services planned in the future. Our

biggest concern is everyone’s safety.

My thoughts and prayers continue to be with everyone of our

Immanuel families as we all continue to stay home and do our social

distancing. We will get back to the celebrating when it is safe. In the

meantime, stay healthy and strong in your faith.

Chairman, Barbara Hoyhtya

We remember, O Lord, all those people throughout the years who have

made the supreme sacrifice for our country, for liberty, for us. Whenever

we breathe the air of freedom or claim the right to justice or enjoy the

privilege of worship, fill us with gratitude for those who selflessly gave the

last full measure of devotion — their very lives — for our benefit.

May these brave men and women now know the joy of eternity and your

presence. And may the families of the fallen receive comfort and peace

amid their grief. Help us as we minister to their needs. Through Jesus

Christ our Lord. Amen.

The 125th [2020] Church Anniversary Committee encourages recipes be submitted to the church office

for our compiling a cookbook. In thinking rhubarb may be ready soon, this recipe may be timely to be

printed.

Easy Rhubarb Dessert

4 - 5 cups thinly sliced rhubarb

1 pkg. (3 oz.) Jello may use flavor of your choice such as strawberry, cranberry, etc.

1/2 cup sugar

1 pkg. yellow or white cake mix (not lemon)

1/3 cup butter or margarine

1 cup water

Put sliced rhubarb in a 9x13 greased pan. Sprinkle with the dry jello and sugar. Sprinkle dry cake mix

evenly over rhubarb. Pour melted butter over cake mix. Follow with pouring the water over.

Bake 1 hour (350 degrees) or until golden brown. Submitted by Marilyn Rettig

+Christian Symbol+

Violet—The violet, a symbol of

humility, is used most often to

refer to the Virgin Mary, whom

St. Bernard (1090-1153) de-

scribed as “the violet of humili-

ty.” The purple flower also is

sometimes used to express

Christ’s humility in assuming

human form.


Non - Profit Org.

U.S. Postage PAID

Brownton, MN

Permit No. 2

Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

Pastor: Rev. R. Allan Reed

700 Division St.

P. O. Box 147

Brownton, MN 55312-0147

Return Service Requested

A Monthly Newsletter of Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church

700 Division St. P.O. Box 147, Brownton, MN 55312-0147

www.immanuellutheranbrownton.org

Pastor’s Office and Church Office: 320.328.5522

Noah’s Ark Preschool: (Vicki Herrmann) 320.328.5325; 320.510.2726

Publication by Church Office Secretary, Diane Harbarth

Special dates

• National Day of Prayer, May 7, 2020

• Mother’s Day, May 10, 2020

• Armed Forces Day, May 16, 2020

• Ascension Day, May 21, 2020

• Memorial Day, May 25, 2020

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