Trinity First Lutheran Church

Bulletin Announcements

January 14, 2007 through January 20, 2007

On this second Sunday after the Epiphany, we extend a welcome to all who have come to praise our Creator. We are sincerely happy that you have come.

Prepare for Worship Next Sunday : Nehemiah 8:1-3, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Luke 4:16-30

Many thanks to our teaching Elder, Todd Bentz, for preaching this morning. We are blessed by the Spirit’s ministry thru you, Todd!!

Church Development Partners has acknowledged receipt of our signed Covenant of Cooperation. They will contact us via phone in the next couple weeks to get started on the next steps. Lots of information on the Franklin Street Ministry project is posted by my office door and by the 19th Street entrance. Above all, please be in prayer that Trinity First would receive a clear vision of how she should develop her most under-utilized asset - property and equity - to further the kingdom of God! Thank you to all who've worked to get us t this point. Please also pray for endurance for the long - but fulfilling - journey which lies ahead.   ~ Pastor Jake

Thanks to Pastor Gillard and family for visits and prayers. Also for the prayers from Charles and Jeanne Huff. Thank you to Teddy K. and Marie B. for evening devotions. Also to all of you in the Wednesday morning and Sunday morning Bible classes who remembered me in prayer, visits, cards, and gifts. God bless each one of you, and believe me, God does answer prayer. I am getting stronger each day; however, the recovery will be several months. I am staying with my son and his family in Buffalo with Heartland Health Care coming in six hours per week. I look forward to seeing all of you again. You are welcome to visit or call me anytime. Thanks again!  ~  Blessings, Gloria Groenke

The Annual TFL - Community of Faith Men's Breakfast will be on Saturday, January 27th. The Breakfast starts at 8:30 am sharp then there will be praise and worship (music provided by Community of Hope). We will have you back on the road by 10:30!

Pastor Jake is preaching at Golden Valley Lutheran this morning. They are putting on a benefit concert at their church on Friday, January 26th at 7:00 pm featuring Bruce Henry. Tickets are $10 and all proceeds go towards our Vintage Church plant. Please come and hear GREAT music, meet this GREAT congregation that is partnering with us, and support the GREAT effort! If you’d like to go but the admission is a hardship, please see Pastor Jake as he has some free and discounted tickets. Also, St. John's in Chaska is bringing six of their members who are in the construction trades to our campus on Saturday, January 20th to see what needs to be done to remodel the back half of our sanctuary into an alternative worship space and our lounge into a nursery and cry room. Isn’t it awesome that the funding (Golden Valley Lutheran) and the skilled labor (St. John's, Chaska) are coming together at the same time? Maybe we'll have this remodeled, useful, and cool space sooner than we think! Keep praying! -- Pastor Jake

Norm Piatti is representing all of our TFL ministries this morning at a mission festival at Family of Christ, Ham Lake. Thanks, Norm!

Doug Stoeckicht, 21, will be working with Kevin B and learning about Muslim Outreach for the next 9 weeks for his internship in Multi-Cultural Studies at Trinity Lutheran College in Seattle, WA. Doug was born in Chicago and moved to Minnesota with his parents when we was seven  years old. After graduating from Minnetonka High School, Doug left for Trinity Lutheran College. The Lord has led him on many trips where in the United States and around the World that ultimately help shape his heart of God's people and spreading the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ to all nations. Doug is part of a worship team at his college with a group of his good friends. His other hobbies include: rock climbing, painting, and Ultimate Frisbee. Doug is looking forward to the next couple months at TFL, and is excited to see what God has in store for him people. His verse to live by each day is 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, "To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all those for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."

Poinsettias - Thank you to all who ordered poinsettia plants for Christmas, our Chancel looked beautiful! Please feel free to take your plant home with you after the service today.

Anniversary Directories - The Anniversary Directories are being handed out. Due to their large size, they were not placed in the boxes in the Narthex. Please see Wendy to get your Directory. If you are able to deliver a Directory to another member, that would be greatly appreciated.

Stained-Glass Window Update - For those of you who are wondering, we still owe $5,000.00 towards the repairs and cleaning that was done on our stained-glass windows this past summer. Please consider contributing to this need.

Council Meeting - Saturday, January 20, 9am

Elder's Meeting - Wednesday, January 31, 7pm

Congregation's Annual Meeting - Sunday, February 11, 11am

Plan to Join Pastor Jake on the steps of the Capital in St. Paul on Monday, January 22nd to March for Life! Carpool form TFL at 11:30 a.m. and return 2:00 pm-ish.

Thank You Ever So Much to all of you who enriched our holiday season with your cards, gifts, and good cheer! Our visit to Michelle's family in Wisconsin was low-key (you don't be too ambitious with 2 kids under 2!) but such a blessing. Thanks for allowing us time away to be with them. Michelle and I would like to share a holiday photo with you. If you haven't received one yet - just ask Michelle or myself today!  ~ Pastor Jacob & family

Kim Acton - Perhaps you remember Kim Acton, a graduate of Concordia University, St. Paul who was with us before and after she did her internship in Kazakhstan. She writes, "...Merry Christmas from New York City! After living for three months with the pastor and his family, God has provided me with a very comfortable and conveniently located one-bedroom apartment. In Him, Kim"  Please contact the church office for Kim's address.

Hospitalizations, Births and Funerals ... Please phone the church office if you or someone you know is hospitalized, has given birth, or is in need of funeral arrangements. Due to privacy laws and lack of staff, hospitals and nursing homes seldom (if ever) phone the congregation or pastor when you enter the hospital.

Preaching Schedule for the weeks to come:

A Measure of our Faithfulness Last Week
 + There were 60 in our Sunday Worship Service on January 7
 + There were 41 in our Tuesday Night Worship on January 9
 + Last week's offering: $4071.25

Hispanic Mission Minute  -  by  Abby Dawkins
Who me, a missionary? “Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you’” (John 20:21). My Danish friend, Tina, is here in the States visiting me. After experiencing and observing the area around Trinity First and Lake Street she shared, “You know, Abby, there are so many opportunities to do mission right here. One really doesn’t have to go to another country to be a missionary.” What a true statement. Some are called to serve as missionaries in a foreign land, but many of us are called to serve God in our daily lives in the neighborhood that surrounds us. Last week Pastor Jake reminded us that “Every Christian, at the moment of baptism, becomes a missionary.” The Holy Spirit empowers us to pray and to go. With whom is God calling you to share His story today? Pray for the Holy Spirit’s work in the hearts of the Spanish-speaking people in the Phillips neighborhood and continued prayer for the Reyes family.

Concordia WI Wind Ensemble Performs at Messiah Lutheran - The 55 piece Concordia University Wisconsin Symphonic Wind Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Louis A. Menchaca, will be making an appearance in Lake ville as part of their winter annual concert tour. The concert, sponsored by Messiah Lutheran Church (16725 Highview Ave, Lakeville), will be held on Tuesday, January 16 at 7pm. For further information contact the Messiah Lutheran Church office at 952-431-5959.