Trinity Lutheran Church Blog

What if …?
What if everyone showed up weekly for worship?
What if each one brought someone to worship with them?
What if every child came to Sunday school class weekly?
What if each child brought a friend to Sunday school?
What if Bible classes were maxed out weekly?
What if each one brought a friend to Bible class?
What if each person daily prayed faithfully?
What if each person forgave another person who sinned again them?
What if each person loved one another … even one’s enemy?
What if every family gave 10% of their income to the Lord?
What if everyone told someone what Jesus meant to them?
What if each one befriended a neighbor on the block?
What if each one adopted an annual mission project?
What if each one did a weekly mission activity?
What if …?
What if Jesus had not been born in the flesh?
What if Jesus had not agreed to do the Father’s will?
What if Jesus had not died on the cross for your sin?
What if Jesus had not been raised from the dead?
What if “God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have life everlasting”?

Always in His Grip,

Filed under: Messages from Pastor Kittel | Comments Off

President’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday are three observances that mark this shortest month of the year. President’s Day is our opportunity to honor Washington for his vision and guidance at the birth and early years of development of our nation. We honor Lincoln for his leadership, wisdom and encouragement during our nation’s years of division and civil strife. It’s a time to remember that we are “one nation under God.”

Valentine’s Day is a time for husbands and wives to remember their marital love and commitment. It only takes a moment each day to secure love for a lifetime. Valentine’s Day ought to remind husbands and wives how to lovingly treat one another every day. In the routine of life we often forget to let our spouse know that he or she remains a priority in our lives – and in our thoughts throughout the day. Make “I love you” a genuine expression in your conversation between one another. If you have a lot on your mind, make sure your spouse is also on your mind. Instead of caffeine, letromance be your central nervous system’s stimulant. Join with your spouse at the altar at one of Trinity’s worship services the weekend of the 13th/14th to renew your marriage vows.

Ash Wednesday is an opportunity to align our walk of faith with Jesus. It is a call to repentance and obedience. Our Lenten theme is The Sign of Jonah. Jonah … for Lent? Sounds fishy, but it’s a natural fit. When the Jews asked Jesus for a sign, He said, “I will give you only the sign of Jonah.” We will follow Jonah on his journey … and Jesus on his way to the cross. You are invited to the foot of the Cross for our Lenten journey beginning Ash Wednesday, February 17th, at Noon or 7:00 pm. Starting with Wednesday, the 24th Lenten worship service, there will be a Soup and Sandwich Supper beginning at 6:00 pm.
Always in His Grip,

Filed under: Messages from Pastor Kittel | Comments Off

Time marches on … We celebrate the end of the old year and welcome in the New Year. As you look back on the old year, you determine in your mind whether it was a good or bad year by the value you place on the events that transpired. If the year was marked by the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, or that you had to accept a difficult diagnosis, you might label it as a bad year. If there was the birth of a healthy child in the family circle, a marriage, a graduation, or a promotion, you most likely will label it as a good year.

The one thing about any year … old or new … it is in the hands of God. His promises are what make a year bearable … no matter how difficult or challenging it may be. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35, 37-39)

As you face the New Year, believe that God is for you. Face the New Year with His promise that “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you … knowing that “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Remember also that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13: 5b, 6b, 8 )

Christ entered time as the Word made Flesh. Jesus has redeemed time with His perfect life, death, and resurrection for our salvation, guaranteeing you eternal life by faith in Him.

What will you resolve to do for the New Year 2010? Surely, to walk in His Way, to study His Word, to frequent His Supper, to forgive and love others as He has forgiven and loved you, to offer the gifts of your time, talent and treasure for proclaiming the Gospel and the growth of His kingdom.  May the Holy Spirit empower you to be committed in faith, to do His ministry and mission where you are planted.

Always in His Grip,

P.S. Your wonderful cards, encouraging words, and generous gifts have warmed our hearts throughout the Christmas season. THANK YOU! God bless and uphold you as we begin a new year of service together – growing in the Word and leading others to Jesus.  May all we do and say bring glory to His name.

Filed under: Messages from Pastor Kittel | Comments Off

The Swift Family has generously offered to donate $4 of each $10 car wash to TLC! Just enter code 1027 when purchasing the car wash so we get the credit. This offer is good until December 31, 2009.

Filed under: TLC Preschool | Comments Off

Wednesday, Dec. 16th (all Mon/Tues/Wed classes) and Friday, Dec. 18th (all Th/Fr classes). The programs will begin approximately 15 minutes after our usual class starting time. Please be sure to invite Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and other special friends!

Filed under: TLC Preschool | Comments Off

“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” (Galatians 4: 4, 5)

In the Garden of Eden, Satan, sin, and death entered the world through man’s disobedience. God set in motion a plan and promise (Genesis 3:15) to right the wrong by stating that the seed of the woman (One “born of a woman”) would crush the serpent’s head thus “destroying the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). Paul wrote how the curse on the Serpent would be fulfilled in the triumphant Christ, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your
feet.” (Romans 16:20)  The birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ spell victory over sin, death, and Satan once and for all.  That’s Good News!  Christmas is the first of the stepping stones of the Church year cycle that announces the Glad Tidings of the promised Messiah. We get to hear the announcement of the Angel to the Shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people, today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2: 10b, 11)

Two thousand years ago, few people in Bethlehem recognized the importance of the stable where Joseph and Mary snuggled their newborn Son. It wasn’t the kind of place you’d expect to find someone important.

The stable was not like a pretty picture on a Christmas card.  The grueling journey to Bethlehem left Joseph and Mary tired and hungry. They longed to find a place to bathe and for a warm bed. Instead, they settled for the night in a darkened corner of a stable, to the smell of manure and rotting straw.

But in that stable, almighty God took the form of a newborn child and stepped into human history to reconcile men and women – you and me – to Himself. That miraculous virgin birthin that manger setting heralded the transforming relationship between us and Him.

Three decades later, beneath Calvary’s cross, the manger was a distant memory in Mary’s heart. Jesus’ death on the cross was God’s plan to crush Satan’s head, by bearing the sin of the world, and three days later breaking the jaws of death by rising from the dead.

The manger, the cross and the empty tomb brought God’s plan of reconciliation and redemption to completion. The manger, the cross and the empty tomb is God’s irrevocable declaration that all who have saving faith in Jesus, our Emmanuel … God with us … have the promise of eternal life. That’s Good News! That’s the reason for the season! Now you have a good reason to say, “Merry Christmas.”

Always in His Grip,

From our home to yours-
May the love of the LORD Jesus warm your hearts
throughout the season & the New Year!
Love — Pastor & Sue

Filed under: Messages from Pastor Kittel | Comments Off

“Is our Thanksgiving day a holiday or a holy day?” I guess that depends on what you do with it. If it is only a time away from school, the job, a time for family gatherings, and perhaps a football game, than it is certainly a holiday – a time to make merry.

If it is kept by us as individuals and families and the congregation as a day to give thanks to God, then it is also a holy day. At the same time it can also be a holiday for us in that we have freedom from labor and leisure for recreation.

It is also a festival, a day of celebrating, of being joyous. In the Old Testament God used religious feasts as a means of teaching the young and reminding the adults of His great works. For instance, the Passover was the covenant feast of Israel.  Traditionally, at the festive table at a certain place in the ritual the son of the family was to ask the father, “Why do we keep this feast?” Then the father would tell the story of God’s deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage.

Our Thanksgiving Day family observance should also be a time of instruction and a time to recall the great works of God for which we give thanks. Thanksgiving needs to be intentional. We need to plan for it and encourage it. We need to turn in God’s Word’s to those passages which we can share at the festive table.

In the Psalms, (95:1, 2) we read, “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.” And also (100: 4, 5) “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Jesus gathered with His disciples in an upper room to celebrate the Passover on the eve before His sacrificial death on the cross to deliver us from the bondage of sin.  He used the occasion to institute a new meal of remembrance, the Lord’s Supper. He took bread and the cup and GAVE THANKS.  He distributed it to them saying, “Take eat, this is My body” and “Take drink, this is My blood” for the forgiveness of your sin … do this often in remembrance of Me.  “The Rock of our salvation” gives Himself to us … “O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever.”

Before you sit down at your table with family and friends for your thanksgiving meal, why not join with your family of faith at the Lord’s Table with thanksgiving in your heart and taste and see that the Lord is good and what great things He has done…forgiveness, life, and salvation!

After communing at His Supper, the Post-Communion Canticle invites each of us to “Thank the Lord and sing His praise; tell everyone what He has done. Let everyone who seeks the Lord rejoice and proudly bear His name. He recalls His promises and leads His people forth in joy with shouts of thanksgiving. Alleluia, alleluia.” (LSB 164)

Thanksgiving is a call for personal response to God’s love with acts of thanksgiving. In his first letter, John tells us (3:16-18) “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongued but with actions and in truth.”

I invite you to take a love action this thanksgiving and bring food items throughout the month of November to church for the Grafton township food pantry and/or supply a grocery gift card.

“We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) Let us “give thanks to Him and praise His name.” (Psalm 100:4)

In His Grip,

Filed under: Messages from Pastor Kittel | Comments Off

October is a time to revisit our Reformation heritage and the person, who reflects what the Reformation represents, Martin Luther. Rev. Roland F. Ziegler of Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, IN explains the essence of Lutheran theology from his article Luther and Justification (For the Life of the World, January 2004. Volume Eight, Number One)

The spiritual struggle that Luther wrestled with was how can man stand before God and not perish? This was the question that drove him almost to despair as a monk. The remedies of monastic discipline and the theology of his day all failed him. He experienced himself unable to fulfill the will of God, and so God took on the shape of a terrible tyrant, demanding what no man could do, and nevertheless condemning man because of his inability to conform to His will. Only when he found the true understanding of the words “the just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:16), did he find peace and freedom.

In 1531 Luther lectured once again on the Epistle to the Galatians in which the apostle Paul attacks an understanding of Christianity as a religion of what man does.  In his commentary, Luther defines justification in a way that brings out an interesting nuance: “But the doctrine of justification is this, that we are pronounced righteous and are saved solely by faith in Christ, and without works” (AE 26, 223).  Justification is that we are pronounced righteous or acquitted. Here Luther follows the apostle Paul in the way he uses legal language to describe how man is saved. God pronounces man righteous, as a judge gives the verdict. The difference is that an earthly judge has to acquit the innocent and to condemn the guilty. He has to judge according to the defendant’s actions, what he has done. God does it differently. He does not judge us according to our deeds, but He pronounces us innocent, even though we are according to our actions guilty. A human judge searches for innocence in the accused. God finds only guilt but imputes to man Christ’s righteousness. This legal language safeguards that the reason for our justification is not something we have done, do, or will do, but solely what Christ has accomplished on the cross. It teaches us to look outside of ourselves for salvation and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and His righteousness during our life and never ever trust that we are pleasing to God because of what we do, but rather to realize that we are pleasing to God because of Christ.

Luther’s understanding of justification is essentially nothing but applied Christology … “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself not imputing their trespasses unto them” (2 Cor. 5:19). Justification by grace alone through faith alone is the consistent application to man of the atonement whose fruits come to us through the Gospel.  To be a Christian is nothing but trust in this message: Christ did everything for us. This Good News comes to us externally through the word of the apostles and prophets, the preached word and the Sacraments.

The doctrine of justification tells us who God is: our Judge, who bore our punishment. It tells us who we are: guilty, but innocent in Christ. It shows us a foundation to stand on: Christ’s righteousness, ours in faith. It extols the God who without our doing makes us alive through the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8,9)

“Nothing in my hand I bring; simply to Thy cross I cling …” (LSB 761 v 3)

Always in His Grip,

Filed under: Messages from Pastor Kittel | Comments Off

Trinity Lutheran Church, Huntley, Rally Day 2009 on Sunday, September 13^th was a great success!  – Everyone joined in to kick off the Sunday School Year.  Preschool through sixth grade enjoyed meeting their teachers, racing games, duck pond, beanbag toss, prizes and especially the face (and arm) painting done by our middle and high school youth. The finale was a colorful balloon release. The 100+ balloons were printed with the words “SMILE! Jesus Loves You!” and attached to each string was a card with a bible phrase and the church’s return address. We’ll have to see how far the balloons travel and if anyone returns a card to the church.

Tags: Rally Day 2009
Filed under: Trinity Lutheran Church News | Comments Off

We are beginning our 18th year here at TLC! We are truly Shining Like Stars for Christ in our work here at TLC!

We have already had our annual Toy Washing Day, where our families come in to help us clean & set up our rooms for the new year. It was great fun, and we had a fabulous crew of families come in to help, even though it was raining cats & dogs!!

The first week of September is our “Easy Start” Week, where children come in small groups with their parents for their first taste of a preschool day.  Our full days of classes begin the week after Labor Day.

Check out the bulletin board in the hall for our weekly news & our monthly calendar. We will also be putting together a little “baby-doll” shower!  We really need some new baby dolls in our classrooms, and we have found some quality multi-cultural dolls, along with some new outfits! Quality means that they are expensive, too, and that hopefully they will last through years of hundreds of children playing with them!  We will put up pictures along with envelopes for anyone interested in helping us purchase our new classroom babies can take an envelope, and return it to the TLC office or into the collection plate.  Thanks in advance!!

We will also be accepting ads for our school directory through the end of September, and publication will be in the beginning of October. If you have a business you would like to advertise, please call the preschool office at 847- 669-5781 for more information.

Our Before & After School Program has also begun! Mrs. Kay Mahnke & “Captain” Ron Priore welcome our students every morning at 6:30 with a light breakfast & a relaxing time to play and get ready for their busy day.  They return after school for a healthy snack, some homework help, and lots of active & quiet play choices. We are blessed to have so many returning families in this program, and we really get to watch these little ones grow!  We’ve had many families return for 6 years or more now, as we care for k-5th graders.

Please check out our new website!!  Heather Herum, one of the TLC board members, and a proud parent of one TLC alumni & one TLC current student, has put together an amazing website, chock full of pictures & information about our programs. You can click on the preschool link on the church website, or go directly to the site at http://tlc.trinityhuntley.org.

Please keep us in your prayers as we begin our new year.

Peace & Joy,

Sue Hansen, Director

Filed under: TLC Preschool | Comments Off