The Lutheran Spokesman

(March 1996)


    

He's Been There For You


In this issue:

You Are Shriven The chief priests,... teachers,... elders mocked him... This Grace Of Giving The Word Brings Results There Ought To Be A Law Against Evolution Special Letter To The Editor What Can The Righteous Do? Meet: Sarah Lau Announcements For Circulation and Subscription Information, click here.

Articles


YOU ARE SHRIVEN

Do you remember hearing anyone asking, back around the middle of February, if you had "gotten shriven yet?" The 3-day pre-Lent season of "Shrovetide" and the custom of "getting shriven" then, are forgotten customs most everywhere. Once in a while you might hear of "Shrove Tuesday." "Shrive" and "shrove" go back to the Latin work "scribere," which has tumbled down to us through Old German and Old English as scribe, shrift, scrivener, script, or in description and prescription. It means something is written down. But "Shrovetide" and "shriven" denote a perversion of what was originally scripted. For hundreds of years during the Middle Ages, going to the priest for confession was pretty much a matter of compulsion. And then, instead of the penitent receiving a full pardon as scripted in the Holy Scriptures, he received a prescription of tasks to be performed, in order for the absolution to be valid. To "get shriven" was to go to confession and receive such a conditional and uncertain absolution. Of all Christian congregations in the world today, well over half of them still officially teach that such prescriptions are necessary. And in the rest of them, many members believe that something still has to be done "by us" in order to make God more willing to forgive us. Written In The Book Of Life Some Lutherans think that way. Perhaps even you feel that you have to do something, in order to change God's attitude towards you! And you might even have your very own list or "prescription" -- trying to get yourself shriven by yourself! The flesh leans strongly in favor of doing this. In the Middle Ages they harnessed it and mandated it! Back in the 16th century Martin Luther soon discovered that what was scripted in what he called "Die Heilige Schrift" had been nullified for centuries! The Gospel clearly teaches that the Lamb of God takes away all the sins of the world, full and free. Nothing remains to be paid for or worked off, by you or anyone else. It is written! But few taught or believed it any more. "Holy Script" tells all believers that you are now part of "the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven"! (Heb. 12:23) You can say that you are among those "whose names are written in the Book of Life" (Php. 4:3), and among those who "are in the Lamb's Books of Life" (Rev. 21:27). You are shriven there, by God, in the Word! Our Lutheran Confessions show that to be in Christ means to be written up in the Book of Life, inscribed there. Christ did all work necessary for your salvation. It is also scripted what works we gladly and freely do upon becoming believers in Jesus. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 through 10, clearly spells it all out for us. God prepared our salvation beforehand, plus a prescription for service. It is all a gift, not a bit of it our doing. It is all down in writing for you to see and believe. For you are shriven! "Rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (Lk. 10:20). --Pastor Warren Fanning

The chief priests, the teachers of the law,

and the elders mocked him . . . "

Matthew 27:41 The famous author and editor H. L. Mencken once wrote: "Injustice is relatively easy to bear; what stings is justice." When Jesus was crucified, that was injustice. And while He hung by the side of the road, and the crowds came by to make fun of Him, that was injustice. But the words with which they mocked Him also contained an element of truth. They cast His own words and deeds in His teeth, and that must have stung. "He Saved Others" "He saved others," they jeered, and it was true! For almost three years He had saved others. From all walks of life they had come, the rich and poor, the peasant and the noblemen, the lepers, the paralyzed, the dying. When we hear the word "saved" or "salvation," we naturally think of being saved eternally. But Jesus saved people from all sorts of disasters. He saved His disciples from a storm on the Sea of Galilee. He saved Peter from drowning in the angry waves. He saved a woman from a twelve-year hemorrhage. He rescued a man from going through life with a shriveled hand. He once delivered a man from a legion of demons. Three times Jesus saved people from dying, most recently Lazarus who had been dead for four days. Yes, Jesus' enemies admitted that He had saved others, even as they mocked Him for it. What they did not realize was that those temporary deliverances from demons and disease and dying were just the tip of the iceberg. The great truth was that He was in the process of saving them too -- and all mankind -- not just temporarily, but eternally! He was saving them from the justice of God by having that justice fall upon Himself. Did it sting? Just hear Him cry: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" "Himself He Cannot Save" "Himself He cannot save." He helped others, they laugh, but He cannot help Himself. He is helpless. True again! In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed that the cup of suffering might be removed. In effect He prayed: "If there is another way, let it be done that way." But there was no other way to save all the others, and the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all. If He was going to save others, He could not save Himself. He could not save Himself because His great love for us compelled Him to lay down His life for us. It is said that years ago in the Bronx a young "tough" was told that his sister needed his rare-type blood to survive. He looked at her on her hospital bed, and agreed. As he lay on the cot next to her bed he stoically watched the needle pierce his vein, and the transfusion was carried out. When it was over and the nurse helped him up, he looked confused and said to the doctor, "Hey, Doc, when am I gonna die?" From the time he had agreed to give his blood, the boy had thought that it would cost him his life to save his sister, and in his love for her he had been willing to give it. Well, in Jesus' case it was true! He saved others. He could not save Himself. He could not do both. And He willingly shed His blood as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. The glorious truth about Jesus, veiled by the triumphant sneers of the enemy, but openly taught everywhre else in Scripture, is that He truly is the Savior, and He came to save us from our sin. No wonder we lift our voices, even in Lent, to praise the Lord! Glory be to Jesus Who in bitter pains Poured for me the life-blood From His sacred veins! Hallelujah! --Pastor Paul Schaller

"New Creatures In Christ"

(2 Cor. 5:17)

Studies in Second Corinthians

Chapter 8

This Grace Of Giving

Please read chapter 8 of Second Corinthians. It is about taking an offering. A refreshing surprise for people who have been dulled in spirit by the countless pleas for funds that assail us. The new creature in Christ is drawn to it with joy. Weren't you? Didn't you yearn to be part of such a splendid exercise of Christian love and concern? It's so different from the usual fund raising which leaves one cold even though it may get results (the quarter pitched at the aggressive demands of a professional panhandler). This is so special in manner, method, and purpose that giving actually becomes a grace! More Privilege Than Duty The Corinthian Christians were lagging in the synod-wide effort to get help to the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem who were desperately impoverished (no doubt largely because they were confessing Christ in a hostile situation). A year earlier they had been leaders in this. Now their willingness had wilted (v. 10-11) as their own house was divided by controversies. The Macedonian Miracle The first thing the Apostle does is to report what the Spirit of Christ had accomplished in Philippi and other neighboring churches. These people were themselves extremely poor (v. 2). Yet their "poverty welled up in rich generosity." A dramatic expression of the fact that they had first given themselves to the Lord and to the saints (v. 4). "Take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to Thee!" The first step to gracious giving. When someone sees himself and all that he has as redeemed by Christ, something follows: my life and my goods are at my Lord's disposal. I am honored to be in His service. In Macedonia "they urgently pleaded . . . for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints" (v. 4). With Joy Is it our duty to give liberally for the work of the gospel? Of course. But Paul is more interested in fruits of faith than what we might feel obliged to do. "Duty may get something done, but love will do it better." In the Apostle's example, they gave beyond their ability. More than could ever be reasonably expected. And this without promotion, entirely on their own (v. 3). In contemporary church life we see the same spirit of gracious giving. One of our CLC churches had its beginning in the 60's when a nucleus of 11 adults committed themselves to provide at least one half the cost of a resident ministry if the synod's mission program (meager as its resources were) would be responsible for the rest. This bilateral "beyond ability" zeal bore beautiful fruit. Also as a stimulating example of "gracious giving." Something for the churches to see (v. 24). The Grace Of Our Lord What is the motive, the driving power, of gracious giving? It is simply the image of Christ in whom this new kind of benevolence is realized. We are urged to know what we easily forget: the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 9). Let that image be vivid to the eyes of faith! "We are rich, for He was poor. Is not this a wonder?" That we might be enriched with forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation He impoverished Himself, leaving behind His glory as God. "He made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant" (Php. 2). This led Him to death on a cross. All this giving that we might be rich! No wonder that image continues to give birth to gracious giving, the kind of giving that glorifies Jesus and His grace. Some Practical Advice Lofty as the gospel is when it comes to giving, the Spirit's spokesman has down to earth advice that reckons with human need and nature. 1) Gracious giving is well keyed to what one has (even though some, like the Macedonians, gave "beyond their ability" -- v. 12). Proportionate. 2) The goal is equalizing the burden among the saints. When you are prospering you are able to carry more. When you are "in need" others will relieve you (vv. 13-15). (We hear of a church that passed the plate with the instruction: "Put in what you can share; take out what you need." No report on how it worked.) 3) Let the churches take great care as they administer the offerings (vv. 16-24). Failure in this has put some televangelists in jail. The fruits of gracious giving are too precious to lose to the greed of those who carry them in trust. Auditing the books is good. More Coming In another issue of the Spokesman you will find the continuation of this heart-warming subject as it appears in chapter 9. --Rollin A. Reim NOTE: At the 1965 Convention of the CLC there was a paper called "The Macedonian Miracle." Written by Robert A. Reim. It deals with this aspect of our sanctification in its vital relationship to the gospel widely distributed at that time, it might be due for re-issue. Contact the Spokesman if you would like a copy for personal or Bible class use.

THE WORD BRINGS RESULTS

Few people grow grapes, but many people enjoy roses, which have the same properties. Both types of plants require care, which remind us of the True Vine lesson of Christ. "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman" (Jn. 15:1-KJV). A rose grower will prune away all the deadwood on his bushes, which makes the plants want to produce. The grower will also prune the branches which bloom, so they blossom even more. "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit" (v. 2). Beginners do not want to prune the deadwood or the few blooms which show on the neglected plant, but experienced gardeners know that pruning is part of God's plan of creation for roses and for us. Those who do not rely on Christ's merit for their salvation are dead wood, even if they dress up for Sunday worship, serve on five committees, and give regularly. They will be pruned away, because they do not bear fruit. Sincere believers are pruned in two ways. First, the preaching of the Law and Gospel cleanses them of their sin through the work of the Holy Spirit. "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you" (v. 3). Secondly, the crosses they bear purify their faith and make them thirst for the living water of the Word. The beloved Son of God offers a great promise in verses 4 and 5: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." God Will Accomplish His Will No one expects a rose to bloom on its own. The flower derives all of its strength from the plant. No Christian can bloom apart from Christ, who comes to us solely through the Word and the Sacraments. Because the Holy Spirit is always bound to the Word and always effective, we can always trust that God will accomplish His will through His appointed Means of Grace. "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Is. 55:10-11). Rain and snow bring inevitable growth. The Word brings inevitable results. God has promised. God never deceives. In contrast, Jesus warns that those who do not abide in Him will be cast away and will wither, just as pruned branches dry up on the trash heap. Moreover, they will be gathered and burned in eternal judgment (Jn. 15:6). The Bible teaches only two alternatives: fruitfulness from abiding in Christ; eternal punishment from rejecting Christ. The happy task of the Christian is simply to remain in Christ through the Word. As Luther taught, the pastor who preaches God's Word has God in his mouth, and the listeners have God in their ears, and then in their hearts. How can God be in our hearts without being fruitful (v. 7)? So we pray with faith and God answers our prayers, as He has promised faithfully. When Christians are fruitful from enjoying the Means of Grace, the Father is glorified (v. 8). The rose grower obeys the laws of Creation and sees a cascade of roses, delighting the eye and filling the air with perfume. But nothing compares with the overwhelming abundance of blessings pouring forth wherever the Word is taught in truth and purity. --Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

There Ought To Be A Law Against Evolution --

And There Is!

Perhaps the reason so many people continue to reject the notion of evolution is that it seems contrary to ordinary experience. Things left to chance just don't get done. Random changes in anything simply do not produce higher levels of organization and complexity. Rather, all complex machines and devices with which we are familiar are the result of intelligent design and manufacture. Random changes can only destroy them. Nonetheless, the essential claim of evolution is that random change and natural selection do make simple things spontaneously transform into more complex things without recourse to intelligent purpose or design. The famous evolutionist Julian Huxley has defined evolution as a "directional and essentially irreversible process occurring in time, which in its course gives rise to an increase of variety and an increasingly high level of organization in its products." In his book Evolution in Action, Huxley says that nowhere in the process of evolution "is there any trace of purpose, or even of prospective significance." Huxley says that evolution is driven solely by "blind physical forces" engaged in what he calls a great "chaotic jazz dance of particles and radiations." Incredibly, Huxley concludes that evolution is a process in which "the only over-all tendency we have so far been able to detect is that summarized by the second law of thermodynamics -- "the tendency to run down." Now think about this -- one of the most highly respected spokesmen for evolution tells us that evolution produces an increasingly high level of organization in things by means of a chance process whose only over-all tendency is to cause things to break down! The whole notion that random change over a long period of time can transform simple systems into ever more complex systems runs precisely contrary to one of the most fundamental laws of nature -- the second law of thermodynamics. The Second Law states that with time, everything in the universe tends to undergo progressive degradation. With the passing of time, things do not naturally increase in order and complexity -- they decrease. Think of what spontaneous change over say a thousand years will do to an automobile, or your own body. Scientists tells us that with enough time, this natural degradation process will lead to the "heat death" of the whole universe when virtually everything in nature will run down to the point that even molecular motion will cease! Evolutionists have tried to get around this formidable obstacle by arguing that the Second Law only applies to closed systems that do not receive energy from the outside. The earth, they remind us, is an open system that receives energy from the sun. Evolutionists believe that as long as energy flows into such a system, simple things will just naturally transform into more complex things. They believe that the immense complexity we see in all the living things here on earth has occurred at the expense of our sun. While the sun is burning up, and thus decreasing its free energy and complexity in accordance with the Second Law, the sun's energy promotes a local increase in complexity here on earth. To illustrate how all this is supposed to work, evolutionists often give simple examples such as the earth's water cycle. The Second Law predicts that in a closed system water will naturally flow down hill and will not flow up hill. But the earth, being an open system, receives energy from the sun which can in effect make water flow "up hill." Specifically, the sun's energy can evaporate water which has accumulated on the earth causing water vapor to rise up again into the atmosphere. Having made such a small investment in fact, evolutionists hope to gain a wholesale return by huge extrapolation. They would have us believe that just as a little energy from the sun can cause water to evaporate and go "up hill," so a lot of energy impacting on the earth over 4.5 billions years can cause a mixture of the gasses methane and ammonia to transform into people. The evolutionist cannot get around the Second Law, as it applies to evolution, with such trivial examples. All observed cases in which complex things are derived from less complex things demand an already existing machine that is at least as complex as that which it produces. While this machine requires energy to do its work, energy by itself is not enough. Energy and raw materials, for example, are used in an automobile factory to make complex automobiles, but nothing would come of these resources were it not for the even more complex machines, designs, and intelligent workers associated with the factory. Like factories, living animals and their cells are comprised of extraordinarily complex machines that use energy and raw material in the form of food to do work, produce complex products and even make identical copies of themselves. The food that sustains life is ultimately a product of living green plants. Such plants use energy from the sun to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugar and starch. This process, known as photosynthesis, involves still other complex machines called chloroplasts in the cells of green plants. It is important to emphasize out that all the different kinds of energy-consuming machinery in living cells are not the chance products of mere energy and raw material, but are constructed according to extraordinarily complex and precise "blue prints" in the genes of each cell. Copies of these "blueprints" are read and implemented by still other complex machines in the cell called ribosomes. When all of this genetic information and machinery is present and working properly in say an acorn, it has everything it needs to use sunlight and simple raw material to grow into an oak tree. But if the same sunlight shines on a dead oak tree, it will eventually break it down into dust. Creationists are convinced then that there is a law against the theory of evolution -- the second law of thermodynamics. Evolutionists, on the other hand, continue to reject the idea that thermodynamics is in any way incompatible with evolutionary theory. They insist that creationists simply don't understand thermodynamics. But the great physical scientist Lord Kelvin, who was the very founder of the Second Law of thermodynamics, was a Bible-believing Christian and a creationist! Kelvin, a contemporary of Charles Darwin, was convinced that the science of dynamics was incompatible with evolution. In one of his published lectures Kelvin said: "I need scarcely say that the beginning and maintenance of life on earth is absolutely and infinitely beyond the range of all sound speculation in dynamical science. The only contribution of dynamics to theoretical biology is absolute negation of automatic commencement or automatic maintenance of life." The Bible tells us that "every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything" (Heb. 3:4). It requires less faith to believe this eminently reasonable statement about the origin of complex things as revealed in the sure Word of God than it does to believe in the unreasonable speculations of men. --Dr. David N. Menton

The Suwannee Democrat

Special Letter to the Editor

One Sunday this past September a woman who had been taking Bible lessons toward membership in our Live Oak, Florida congregation (only two of some twenty lessons remained) was shot to death outside the front door of the church. The victim had been in Bible Class, had stepped outside to talk to her estranged husband, who shot his ex-wife to death, and then "drove about a half mile down the road and turned the gun on himself." The following letter was written by Pastor Roehl, now of Bismarck, North Dakota, while serving in Live Oak at the time. Another of our pastors sent this "special letter to the editor" to the Spokesman. Our readers will surely agree that the thoughts the pastor expresses in a letter reporting on such a tragedy are truly pastoral in nature. -- The Editor When Christians are faced with something like the events that unfolded in front of our church this past Sunday, many lessons can be learned. The first and greatest is that our God is in control. At times like this even our community as a whole can experience the feeling of being out of control. By ourselves we are out of control, that that is not to say that the events are out of control. As horrible and as devastating as this tragedy is, we humbly acknowledge that God was in control and that by His hand any futher disaster was prevented. It is true that God saw fit on Sunday to call a fine Christian woman home to Himself in heaven. It was simply her time to be with the Lord. At the same time God prevented any harm from coming to the other members of this church and our community. The deeply disturbed man through whom Satan brought this hardship into our lives was neither a member of Grace Lutheran Church nor was he a member of this community. He was a resident of Gainesville and had been planning these actions against his wife, himself, and against God's church for quite some time. God allowed his actions only in so far as they would serve to the eternal benefit of Mrs. Jones. He was in control. He told Satan, "This far, and no farther." The second lesson we learn from all of this is the true nature of sin. Hollywood has sinned greatly over against God and our country by somehow managing to sterilize and glamorize violence in particular and sin in general. There is nothing heroic or alluring about violence. The real thing, in all its vile ugliness, has no resemblance whatsoever to what we see on television. It is rather a reminder of the natural sin that lies within each one of us. What we experienced on Sunday was exactly the same evil that lies within each one of us apart from Jesus Christ. Here we see, without any of the "lighting" and "make-up," exactly what Jesus carried to the cross in our behalf. There was and is nothing kind and gentle about sin. Satan has succeeded in masking sin's true image. Occasionally we see it for what it really is. All of this is in God's plan to bring us closer to His Son and to thank and praise Hm with even greater appreciation for delivering us from the evil that lives within the sinful flesh of each one of us. In the second chapter of Ephesians our Lord tells us that we all "were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." But in v. 8 He goes on, "By grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast." Finally, we learn again that what Satan intends as disaster for Christians, God turns into blessing. Satan intended this evil to destroy not only a beloved Christian, but also an entire Christian Church. By God's power and grace Satan has failed miserably. He did not destroy a Christian, he was the instrument that God used to bring her home to heaven. With the support of the Holy Spirit and the rest of our Christian community, Satan has not destroyed this Christian Church. God has used these events to make us all the stronger in our faith, and in the hope and expectation of the life that is to come when the Church Militant will be transformed into the Church Triumphant. To this end the members of Grace Lutheran Church wish to thank all of our Christian friends in and around Live Oak for their kind words of support and encouragement. We ask you to keep all of us, expecially the family of the survivors, in your prayers. In His Service, Michael J. Roehl, Pastor

What Can The Righteous Do?

We have been studying the Psalms in one of our study groups. In the eleventh Psalm, v. 3, we came upon a question to which the community of Christian believers can easily relate in our day: "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" We needn't take much time to make a case for the fact that the foundations of society are being destroyed today. We see the standards of morality and family life, which form the basis of society, crumbling all around us. Of all institutions within society, one would expect that the churches would be leading the way in upholding divine standards and teachings, thus forestalling societal erosion. Yet, we find many churches, including mainline Christian churches -- abandoning even basic doctrines of God's Word. Witness the fact that the largest Lutheran synod in our nation, meeting in convention this summer in Minneapolis, couldn't agree on a statement about human sexuality. As though the Bible is unclear on, for example, the subject of homosexuality (but see Romans ch. 1), they asked for more time to study the matter. David had an answer for his friends who were tending to lose heart at the inroads of the enemies of the faith: "The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; His eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence His soul hates. On the wicked He will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot. For the Lord is righteous, He loves justice; upright men will see his face" (Ps. 11:4-7). In the first place, David says, don't doubt. Don't lose hope. Remember that, although it seems otherwise, God is still in charge and in control. No guilty party will get off the hook, even though surrounded by a set of dream-team lawyers. Remember Sodom and Gomorrah. When God comes in judgment, justice will prevail on all sides. He will punish the guilty. He will take the "righteous" -- those who by faith are covered with the righteousness of Jesus, their Savior -- to the perfect bliss of heaven. Meanwhile, what can and should believers be doing? How can they and theirs avoid becoming victims of societal decay and ruin? Read the first Psalm. Who are those who will stand firm when the foundations are crumbling? Those who are students in the "law of the Lord" (the Word of God), meditating upon it "day and night." Note the word "student". One hour of Sunday worship will not be enough. As one Bible commentator writes: "Christians cannot expect to resist the values of the unbelieving world if they devote one hour of the week to meditating on God's Word and the other 167 hours to providing for the needs of their bodies and worldly entertainment." Consider again regular family devotions (prayer) and personal Bible study. When confronted with temptations or faced with difficult decisions in daily life, cultivate the good habit of remembering and applying the truths of God's Word. And, poor beleaguered soul, when all is said and done remember: when the foundations of society are being undermined, the assurance holds: "The Lord will be the sure foundation for your times" (Isaiah 33:6). Even when wickedness and falsehood flourish, "God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and 'Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness'" (2 Timothy 2:19). need to go to church. --Pastor Paul Fleischer

In Our CLC Classrooms --

Meet: Sarah Lau

Sarah Lau is presently teaching at Trinity Lutheran School in Watertown, South Dakota. She received her teaching degree from Immanuel Lutheran College, Eau Claire, Wis. upon graduating in May, 1995. Although she was enrolled in the teaching program at ILC, Sarah had not planned on becoming a teacher after graduating. The summer prior to her senior year she was asked to teach Vacation Bible School. This positive experience convinced her that she should give teaching a second thought. Her favorite subject to teach is math. She finds it encouraging when students help each other learn in a multi-grade classroom. Outside of school she enjoys a variety of sports and visiting with family and friends. Her favorite game at recess is the one that leads to the fewest arguments. Sarah is the daughter of Professor David and Susan Lau of Eau Claire.

Announcements

Change Of Address Mr. Kevin Hulke 1529 Third Avenue Mankato, MN 56001 Phone (507) 625-6110 School (507) 345-3027 Mr. Thomas Skinner 201 31st Street SW Austin, MN 55912 Phone (507) 437-1968 School (507) 433-8191 Women's Luncheon Women of the CLC are invited to attend a luncheon to be held at Messiah Lutheran Church of Eau Claire on Wednesday, June 19, 1996 during the CLC Convention. Those attending may bring displays or crafts by 10:00 a.m. on the day of the luncheon. Please send responses, together with $4.50 to cover expenses, to Susan Lau, 507 Ingram Drive West, Eau Claire, WI 54701 by May 31. Nomination For ILC President The Board of Regents for ILC invites comments from the members of the CLC regarding the nominaiton of Prof. John Lau as President of Immanuel Lutheran College. He was the only one nominated. Please have comments in the hands of Pastor Mike Sydow, Secretary of the Board of Regents, before April 13, 1996. His address is N1521 State Rd 73, Markesan, WI 53946 Nominations The Board of Regents for Immanuel Lutheran College annnounces the following nominations to till the vacancy created by the retirement of Prof. Paul Koch (See January 1996 issue of the Lutheran Spokesman for the description of this position): Mark Bernthal Daniel Schierenbeck Vance Fossum Gene Schreyer Rick Grams Michael Sippert Paul Gurgel Paul Sullivan Douglas Libby Michael Sydow Paul Schaller All comments from members of CLC congregations regarding these nominees should be in the hands of the undersigned no later than March 8, 1996. Mr. Marlin Beekman ILC Board of Regents 3708 Halsey Eau Claire, WI 54701 Call For Nominations The Board of Regents for Immanuel Lutheran College invites voting members of CLC congregations to nominate an individual or individuals to fill the vacancy on the ILC faculty created by Professor P. D. Nolting's acceptance of the call to Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mankato, Minnesota. The man nominated should be theologically trained, with pastoral experience. The primary teaching responsibilities of this position will be in the areas of Religion and Social Studies. Other assignments will be determined upon mutual agreement in accordance with needs and corresponding ability. Those placing nominations are encouraged to include information regarding their nominee's educational background and experience. They should also indicate how their nominee might help our school in supervising extracurricular activities (music, theatre, sports, etc.). Note: Names submitted as nominees to fill the vacancy created on the ILC faculty by the forthcoming retirement of Professor Koch will need to be resubmitted if they are to be considered as nominees for the above position. Please send your nominations, postmarked no later than March 8, 1996 to Mr. Marlin Beekman ILC Board of Regents 3708 Halsey Eau Claire, WI 54701 An Invitation To Special Observances At Immanuel Lutheran College -- Eau CLaire, Wisconsin on May 17 & 18, 1996 On the evening of May 17 at 7:00 the new ILC Commons will be dedicated at a special service (outside, weather permitting). The ILC Graduation Concert will follow. After the concert our campus visitors are invited to a reception in honor of professors Paul Koch, Robert Rehm, Dean Carstensen, and Paul D. Nolting, who will be leaving ILC after the current school year. The faithful service of these men will also be acknowledged in connection with the graduation ceremonies on Saturday, May 18. We would like to present a monetary gift to each of these servants of our church on graduation day, as a token of our appreciation. CLC members are invited to contribute to a "purse" that will be shared by the four men. Please make your checks payable to Immanuel Lutheran College, and stipulate: for the "professors' purse." Send your gifts to Lowell Moen, ILC Business Manager Immanuel Lutheran College 501 Grover Road Eau Claire, WI 54701 --ILC Regents Pastor Vance Fossum, Chairman Clarification: In the article entitled "A King-sized Bed" in the January 1996 the following sentence can be misunderstood: "During that time no shameful desire or thought ever crossed His mind." A clearer sentence would be: "Our sinless Savior was subjected to every human temptation and not once yielded to sin." (This suggested clarification was submitted to me by the author of the article -- Editor) Itinerary 1996 Tour Choir Immanuel Lutheran College March 24 . . . Trinity, Millston, Wis. 10:15 a.m. March 30 . . . Grace, Fridley, Minn. 7:30 p.m. March 31 . . . Mt. Olive, Detroit Lakes, Minn. 1:00 p.m. March 31 . . . Our Savior's, Jamestown, N.D. 7:30 p.m. April 1 . . . St. Paul, Bismarck, N.D. 7:30 p.m. April 2 . . . St. Luke's, Lemmon, S.D. 7:30 p.m. April 3 . . . Good Shepherd, Rapid City, S.D. 7:30 p.m. April 4 . . . Redeemer, Bowdle, S.D. 7:30 p.m. April 5 . . . Trinity, Watertown, S.D. 1:00 p.m. April 5 . . . St. John's, Okabena, Minn. 7:30 p.m. April 6 . . . Faith, New Ulm, Minn. 7:00 p.m. April 7 . . . Berea, Inver Grove Heights, Minn. 9:30 a.m. April 14 . . . Messiah, Eau Claire, Wisc. 7:00 p.m. Please confirm concert times with local congregations. --John Reim, Director