St. Paul’s Epistle

Justification Pop Quiz by Pastor Douglas

St. Paul’s Epistle

The doctrine or “teaching” of the Bible called justification has been called the doc-

trine on which the church stands or falls. What does this mean? It means that where

this wonderful Scriptural truth is taught incorrectly the church is destroying faith

rather than spreading it. And, where this truth is taught correctly the true Christian

faith can flourish and grow!

Below is a short 10 question quiz. One statement in each group reflects the biblical

view of justification taught by the Scriptures and by Luther and the Lutheran Confes-

sions. The statement reflects a false, human view of justification that is taught by

many Reformed, Evangelical or Catholic churches. Take some time, read them

critically, and circle your answer. Answers will be given on page7.

1.) A. God gives a man right standing with himself by placing Christ’s goodness

and virtue to his credit.

B. God gives a man right standing with himself by placing Christ’s goodness

and virtue into his heart.

2.) A. God accepts the believer because of the moral excellence found in Jesus

Christ.

B. God makes the believer acceptable by infusing Christ’s moral excellence

into his life.

3.) A. We achieve right standing with God as Christ lives in us and he lives out his

life of obedience in us.

B. We achieve right standing with God by trusting the fact that Christ obeyed

the law perfectly for us.

4.) A. God first declares that we are good in his sight, and then he gives us his

Spirit to make us good.

B. God sends his Spirit to make us good, and then he declares that we are good.

5.) A. Christ’s intercession at the right hand of God gives us favor in the sight of

God.

B. Christ’s dwelling in our hearts gives us favor in the sight of God.

Quiz continued on page 5.

God’s House. Your Home.

March 2013

Holy Week Services

Palm Sunday

at 8:00 & 10:30am

Maundy Thursday

at 3:30 & 6:30pm

Good Friday

at 12:10 & 6:30pm

Easter Sunday

at 7:00 & 9:30am

Inside this issue:

Spring Tea 2

Children’s Festival 2

The Short-Term Line of Credit Loan

3

Mission Rally 4

LWMS Convention in La Crosse

4

School News 4

Christian Family Seminar

5


Many years ago,

the Lutheran Girl

Pioneer group

had an annual

Mother Daughter

Tea. Some of our current Willing

Workers were the daughters at that

time and fondly remember the

dress up special event that it was.

From that reminiscing, came the

idea to have a Spring Tea. Then it

evolved into a Salad Supper, and

not just for mothers and daughters,

but something to span generations.

This is how we would like it to work.

We (the Willing Workers group)

will organize the event, which will

be held on Sunday April 28,

probably from late afternoon

through early supper. It will be held

in the dining room where we can

serve 96 at our round tables. There

will be some (as of yet undeter-

mined) entertainment, but mainly it

is a dress-up social event.

Now, who is this for? Our thought

was that it should be an event to

span generations. Sign up will be

2X2, one female from one genera-

tion and one from another (younger

or older). Sign up is required and

limited to 96, but there will be no

admission charged. Sign up will not

begin until after Easter, but please

New Women’s Event in April By Marcie Oestreich & Jeanne Jackson

start thinking about who you might

invite. Some ideas are - your

mother, your daughter, your next-

door neighbor (remember younger

or older only), the woman who sits

in your row on Sunday (if you know

that she is younger or older than

you). If you have several young

daughters and would like them all

to come, encourage them to find a

stand-in mother or grandmother to

invite, as each person will need to

have a partner. And don’t wait for

someone to choose you - be first

and ask them!

Just remember, there will be

seating for 96, so watch for the April

sign-up!

Help Spread the Love of Jesus at Children’s Festival This year’s Children's Festival is

April 20. Last year, we had fun

informing families about St. Paul's

while bringing smiles to over 700

children. We plan to do the same

thing this year!

This community-wide event is held

at Lincoln High School. At our

booth, we will paint faces and make

animal balloons. Last year, we went

through 1200 balloons, and families

waited over an hour to get their face

painted!

We could really use more help this

year to handle the demand! Adults

and youth are encouraged to help.

The work is easy to learn and a lot

of fun to do! Training will be

provided on March 17 and April 14

after late service. We will be

preparing the decorations for this

event on April 6 at 9:00 a.m. and

could use your help then as

well.

We also need supplies and

materials. Please look at our

signup sheets in the

Welcome Center to see what

we are looking for.

The best part of this event is

that it gives our outreach

team an opportunity to share

the gospel with the commu-

nity and to let people know

about our church, school,

and daycare. Please prayer-

fully consider where you can

help!

If you have any questions, please

contact Gail Kretschmer at 715-325-

5678 or Greg Paul at 715-424-0449.

Karen Obsuszt, Trisha Engelbrecht and Sarah Douglas make balloon animals at the 2012

Children’s Festival.


Learn about Outreach to the Hmong & Mormons

This month, I would like to highlight

the short-term line of credit loan. At

WoodTrust Bank, we have an

account that allows us to borrow up

to $100,000 to cover “short-term”

shortages in giving towards the

Ministry Plan. We are currently

borrowing $69,621 at 6.25% interest

with a monthly payment of $400.

This loan will take 38 years to pay off

with interest totaling $116,000 if we

only pay the minimum.

Back in 2008/2009 we had this line of

credit loan almost up to the

maximum. Then, we had a wonder-

ful campaign to Move this Mountain

of debt. When this campaign

ended, we had successfully reduced

this debt to zero. In September

2011, we borrowed $20,000 from

this line of credit loan. Again, in

June 2012 we borrowed $17,000.

Just this January, we borrowed

another $33,000. Those seem like

some really big numbers, and they

are. We must get this credit

problem under control.

I was thinking about how to

represent these numbers to you.

Basically, this equates to about two

called worker salaries for one year.

From the giving side of the equation,

on a normal week we open about

205 envelopes. If each envelope

had an additional $7 in it, the loan

would be paid off in one year. What

could St. Paul’s do with $400 per

month for 38 years if we did not

have a loan payment?

Focus on the Ministry Plan – Short-term Line of Credit Loan. by Tim Olari

On March 22, 2013 the St. Paul’s

church council will be having an

all-day meeting to discuss the

direction of the ministries of the

church. Out of this meeting, we

hope to have a new direction

forward, for some hard decisions

need to be made. Please let me or

the other council members know if

you have any ideas, suggestions, or

just encouragement. Please keep

the ministry of St. Paul’s and the

council members in your prayers!

“Grace, mercy and peace from God

the Father and from Jesus Christ, the

Father’s son, will be with us in truth

and love.” - 2 John v.3

You are invited to the mission rally

at Trinity Lutheran Church of Merrill

on Saturday, April 13. Pastor Hue

Yang will give an update on Hmong

Ministry in the Wausau area. Pastor

Yang serves Mountain of the Lord

Lutheran Church in Wausau. Tom

Walter from Christ Lutheran Church

in Eden Prairie will also be there.

He will speak about Truth in Love

Ministries (TILM) and their outreach

to Mormons.

Registration for the rally is from 9:00

to 9:45 a.m., and the rally wraps up

at 2:30 p.m. Lunch will be served at

the church. There is a $3.00 regis-

tration fee, and a freewill offering

will be taken for lunch. Trinity Lu-

theran is located at 15742 Cty. Rd.

FF, southwest of Merrill.

The Wisconsin River Valley Circuit

of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary

Society (LWMS) is sponsoring this

event, but men are also welcome to

attend. If you have a LWMS mite

box, please turn it in by April 7, so

we can pass the money onto LWMS

at the rally.

Most Hmong Hmong Hmong Hmong people maintain traditional spiritual practices that include shamanism and ancestor veneration.

MormonsMormonsMormonsMormons call themselves Christian, but deny that Christ's works are sufficient in and of themselves to gain them eternal life. While they claim to have faith, their hope for eternal life ultimately rests in their own works.

Fifty years ago, 256 women gath-

ered for the first Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society (LWMS) conven-

tion in Winona, MN. Now the 50th

annual national LWMS convention is

returning to the banks of the Missis-

sippi River and is expected to attract

close to 1000 attendees.

Come to La Crosse, WI on June 27-30. You will grow personally and

spiritually by attending several

workshops and hearing inspiring

missionaries. The Saturday evening banquet will feature a humorous

play set in a church kitchen.

Receive an early-bird discount by

registering by April 1. The final reg-

istration deadline is May 1. Registra-

tion forms and convention informa-

tion are available in the church of-fice or visit www.lwms.org.

LWMS Convention in La Crosse

March 2013

School News By Principal Engelbrecht

We invite all of you to “St. Paul’s Got

Talent” on March 15th. This is a

Friday night and the evening will

start with a potluck dinner in the

cafeteria from 5:00-6:15 p.m. The

performances will begin at 6:30 in

the church.

During “St. Paul’s Got Talent” you

will be amazed at the numerous

abilities our God has showered on

our students. You will get to listen to

piano, handbell, band, and vocal

performances. The 4 year old

Preschool class and the Kindergar-

ten students will perform a play. You

will get a chance to see the finals of

the 5th-8th grade spelling bee.

This is a busy month for the students

at St. Paul’s. Besides the talent show,

our 5th-8th grade students will be

participating in the Academic

Challenge at Northland Lutheran

High School on Friday, March 22nd.

All the students will be singing in

church on Palm Sunday in the 10:30

service. The end of the 3rd quarter

takes place on March 22nd too! We

wrap up the month with the start of

Spring Break on Thursday, March

28th. All this will set the stage for the

4th quarter of the school year.

Please keep St. Paul’s Lutheran

School in your prayers, and may

God bless your Holy Week worship!

We continue to pray that God would

lead the right person to accept our

call to teach in the 1st-2nd grade

classroom next fall. Our next call

meeting in Monday, March 18. We

encourage our voters’ to attend this

important meeting.

Dime & Dollar Thrift Store is in need

of volunteers to run the cash

register and help customers. The

store is open Monday through

Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00

p.m., but the most desperate need is

on Thursdays. This is a great oppor-

tunity for a married couple to serve

together! For more information or if

you are interested in volunteering,

please contact Charlotte Jacob at

715-887-2755.

Dime and Dollar Thrift Store is a not-

for-profit organization. All merchan-

dise is donated, and the store is run

entirely by volunteers. The

proceeds from the store benefit

Northland Lutheran High School in

Mosinee. Your donations are always

appreciated. The clothing and

household goods should be in good

condition and working order.

(Please consider donating only

those items you would give to a

friend.)

Spring Break March 28-April 5

Dime & Dollar Needs Your Help!

March 2013

Christian Family Seminar What are God's perspectives on the

family? How are we to live faithfully

in our own family lives? How may

we help others become more like

the families God wants them to be?

At the Christian Family Seminar, you

will examine biblical teachings

concerning marriage, roles of

husbands and wives, roles of

parents and children. Discuss the

social problems threatening the

Christian family today.

Come to Mountain of the Lord

Lutheran Church (5506 Bittersweet

Rd, Wausau, WI) on Saturday, April

6, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The

guest speaker is Dr. Lawrence

Olson, Director of the Congrega-

tional Assistant and Staff Ministry

Programs at Martin Luther College

in New Ulm.

Registration is $10 per person. To

pre-register, contact Mountain of the

Lord Lutheran Church at 715-359-

9357 or jerry.worden@motl-

wels.com.

Justification Pop Quiz Continued 6.) A. Only by faith in the doing and

dying of Christ can we fully sat-

isfy the claims of the Ten Com-

mandments.

B. By the power of the Holy Spirit

living in us we can fully satisfy

the claims of the Ten Command-

ments.

7.) A. To justify means to make

righteous.

B. To justify means to account as

righteous.

8.) A. The believer is pronounced

righteous, because the Spirit of

Grace has made him righteous.

B. The believer is pronounced

righteous because Christ, his

substitute, is found righteous

before God.

9.) A. God considers works done by

believers as good, because they

are done in the righteousness of

Christ.

B. God considers works done by

believers as good, because they

are done in the power of the

Holy Spirit.

10.) A. Man is justified because of

his faith in Christ’s death on the

cross.

B. Man is justified because of

Christ’s death on the cross.

WAIT! Don’t look at the answers yet!

The dictionary in the back of Lu-

ther’s Small Catechism defines “to

justify” in this way: “to declare not

guilty. This word pictures a judge in

a courtroom who tells a criminal that

there is no longer any charge against

them”. It goes on to define

“Justification” in this way: “God’s

declaration that people are not guilty

because Jesus has paid for their sins”.

Take a moment before you go to the

answer key. Look over your an-

swers. Would you like to make any

changes?

As you can see a Biblical under-

standing of justification is very im-

portant to our faith. Over the com-

ing months we will take a look at this

very important doctrine of the Bible,

through our newsletter articles. We

will see that Justification is 1.) by

grace; 2.) complete; 3.) universal 4.)

and received through faith in Christ

Jesus. If in the mean time you would

like to brush up on your understand-

ing of justification you can open your

catechism to the “Third Article of the

Apostle’s Creed” and look at the

section labeled “The forgiveness of

sins”. Several Bible passages will

help as well: Romans 3:22-24, John

1:29b, 2 Corinthians 5:14b, Romans

4:25, 2 Corinthians 5:19a, 1 John 2:2,

Colossians 2:13,14, Luke 23:34a, 1

Timothy 4:10, Ephesians 1:7, 1 Timo-

thy 3:16, and Romans 5:18. Keep an

eye on the newsletter for these arti-

cles…and more quizzes!

Laurie Bolton & Gene Rued were united in

marriage.

Great attendance at Arborview, Arborwood and Bethel Center

Senior Services!

Counting Our Blessings


The Lord called home Vic Hayter at the age of 92.

It was only in the last couple of years, that Vic was baptized and received instruction in the

Christian faith.

Great attendance at midweek Lenten wor-

ship and meals. (On March 13, the kitchen

ran out of food!)

Moisture (rain & snow)

Gifts to Cheerful Givers

has passed the

$100,000 mark.

Once again, the men from the church council and min-

istry boards will be cooking and serving the breakfast

on Easter morning. We were humbled by the large

turn out last year and have made some adjustments so

things run smoother this year.

You are welcome to bring any visiting family or guests

to the breakfast. We just ask that you let us know how

many are coming. There are sign up sheets in the

Welcome Center. You can also sign up on our web-

site www.stpaulswr.org, by clicking on the link on the

homepage.

Easter breakfast will be served from 8:00-9:00 p.m. on

Easter Sunday, March 31, Hope you can come!

Christ Is

Risen!

All of our church musicians and singers!

Good Friday services are at 12:10 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Current

• In memory of Pastor Douglas’

grandmother given by Robert &

Kathy Douglas

• In memory of Russ Pollnow’s

Feb. 6th birthday given by Linda

Pollnow

Mortgage

• In memory of her husband,

Warren Beamish, grandson,

Shad Beamish and great-great

grandson, Robert Dye, given by

Amelia Beamish

• In memory of her husband,

LaVerne Ubinger, and her

mother, Lillian Hetzel, given by

Dorothy Ubinger

• In memory of Elmer Beyer on

his birthday, Feb. 3, given by

Dorothy Beyer

• In memory of Pastor Douglas’

grandmother given by Ben &

Clara Bottensek

• In honor of Rick Kniprath

becoming a member of St.

Paul’s given by Terry & Sandy

Krause

Altar Guild

• In memory of their parents’

birthdays given by Ron &

Georgene Provost

Cheerful Givers

• In memory of Keith Bushmaker

given by Edna Haferman

Special Gifts and Memorials Given through February 24, 2013

March 2013

In the Mailbag

We would like to thank the person

who left us a Valentine’s Day card

and gift card to IGA last month. The

gift could not have come at a better

time for us.

Thank you,

Joe & Dana Schneider

Thank you so much to all for your

get well wishes, many cards & espe-

cially your prayers regarding my

recent surgery.

Thank you also to Pastor Baur and

Pastor Douglas for their concern and

prayers.

God bless,

Sue Bobrowski

Answers to the Justification Quiz: 1.)a, 2.)a., 3.)b, 4.)a, 5.)a, 6.)a, 7.)b, 8.)b, 9.)a, 10.)b

Quiz questions taken from “Justification – Bible Study, Part One” by Pastor Jon D. Bucholz; prepared for the

58th Biennial convention of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod; July 26, 2005

Sometimes young people think that because they are

young or because they are small, they aren't important or

valuable. This year Camp Phillip will be taking a look at

how important tiny little Bethlehem was in God's plan of

salvation and how each person, no matter how young or

old, is also important to Jesus and is a part of God's plan of

salvation.

Early bird registration for 2013 summer camp programs is

now open! Some of our camps, especially specialty camps,

have a limited number of openings. If you want to make

sure that your child has a spot reserved for a 2013 summer

camp, fill out the summer camp registration at

www.cmapphillip.com right away!

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

March 2013 Edition

Non-Profit

Organization US Postage

Paid

Permit No. 46 311 14th Avenue South

Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54495

Phone: 715-421-3634

E-mail: [email protected]

St . Paul ’ s E v . Lu t he ran Chur ch & S c hoo l

Easter Sunday Services

7:00 & 9:30 a.m.

Easter Breakfast served 8:00-9:00 a.m.

St. Paul’s Epistle

Documents

Transcript of St. Paul’s Epistle