November 2010

For almost 135 years, generations of men, women and children have been crossing the threshold of Immanuel Lutheran Augsburg Church to gather in the presence of Almighty God. In this Holy House, children would be marked as those redeemed by Christ the crucified in the waters of Holy Baptism. Years later, in this same Holy House, many of these same children would gather at the altar to be united as husband and wife in the presence of Almighty God. And yet many years later, many of these same children would pass through the doors of Immanuel Augsburg for the final time as their lifeless bodies were laid to rest until that time when Christ Himself returns on that Final Day when all who were born of flesh will rise from the grave.

Throughout the years of this often turbulent earthly life, from that time when God first placed His Name upon you at the baptismal font to that day when Jesus accompanies you to that heavenly mansion that has been especially reserved for you, all the privileges of God’s Kingdom here on earth have awaited you at Immanuel Lutheran Augsburg Church. Your Creator and Redeemer faithfully comes to you here, comforting, strengthening and sustaining you through His Word and Sacrament. Your Heavenly Father has continued to greet all who come unto Him here with these precious and live giving gifts, Sunday after Sunday, from that day in 1876 when a small group of German immigrants gathered to worship under the direction of Reverend Meier to this very day in the year of our Lord 2010.

During the past 135 years, things have changed in this congregation and community. Yet throughout its lengthy history, one thing remains a constant when you gather here on Sunday mornings. Here you have come to hear the unvarnished Word of God in all of its truth and purity. Here you have come to know of His great love for your temporal body and, much more importantly, your eternal soul. Here the sting of death is removed, and here the hope of everlasting life is renewed. Here your faith is made strong and living. That faith God has given to you here in His Church is His greatest gift to you. By that faith, He makes you a recipient of God’s grace in Christ Jesus. Because of that faith, you are a member of this fellowship, and here God makes it abundantly clear to you… membership has its privileges.

Meditate for a moment upon those privileges. The forgiveness of sins, life and eternal salvation. Do you delight in those privileges? Do you really? Or do you take those privileges for granted? Do you reserve each and every Sunday morning as that sacred time for receiving the needed spiritual nutrition that only God’s Word can provide? Or has gathering in Your Creator and Redeemer’s presence become only one of many options for you? Do you limit your attendance to those times of “necessity”, on those occasions when a loved one has taken ill or when family members have nagged you into make an appearance for the sake of propriety? Do you limit your attendance to times of “convenience”, on those occasions when Church doesn’t “interfere” with your personal desires? Own up! Are you guilty of putting other “things” before God, the God who would put Himself before you when His Son, Your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ suffered and died upon the cross in your place? At the cross, your great God and Savior Jesus Christ made your eternal salvation His personal responsibility. You are privileged to share in that great salvation. With this great privilege comes responsibility. Membership has its responsibilities.

Church is more than a good “thing” to do when your schedule permits. Gathering in God’s presence is a divine necessity, and therefore Church is a divine necessity, instituted by Jesus Christ Himself when He promised to be “with you always, even to the end of age” (Matthew 28:20). The faith that God has freely given you needs to be regularly nourished, each and every Sunday morning. Be warned! Faith that is deprived of the living Word will dry up, wither and die.  Don’t take that risk! Take your faith seriously… take your salvation seriously…. take your responsibility seriously.  Savor your privileges… and fulfill your responsibilities.

Pastor Bruce