“Jesus I will ponder now On your holy passion;
With your Spirit me endow For such meditation.
Grant that I in love and faith May the image cherish
Of your suff’ring, pain, and death That I may not perish.”
Join us for our Ash Wednesday service tonight, February 26th, at 6:30.
After careful consideration, Pastor Odya has decided to return the call to Shepherd Ev. Lutheran Church in Albuquerque, NM and remain as pastor at St. Peter’s, Eldorado. He is excited to continue his service to our congregation and is looking forward to our continued partnership in the gospel. If you would like to hear more about what led to this decision, Pastor Odya will comment on it briefly at the beginning of today’s Bible Class video, which should be online this afternoon.
If you were unable to be present at the open forum where Pastor Odya discussed the details of his call, you can watch it here.
On Tuesday, January 14th, Pastor Odya received a divine call to serve as pastor at Shepherd Lutheran Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For those who are unfamiliar with what this means, Pastor Odya now holds two calls: His current call to St. Peter’s, Eldorado, and the one to Shepherd Lutheran, Albuquerque. Over the next few weeks, Pastor will prayerfully consider how and where he may best use his God-given gifts in service to our Lord. Please keep Pastor, his wife Amaris, and both churches in your prayers as he considers the two God-pleasing choices set before him: To remain at St. Peter’s, or to accept the call to Albuquerque. If you would like to talk with Pastor Odya about his two calls, please do not hesitate to call or stop by.
Psalm 72
I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. Not because there is no value in them, but because by January 6th they are usually broken and I don’t need a reason to add more guilt to my life. And, someone has to finish the Christmas cookies and Chex Mix, so…
But maybe you do make resolutions. And maybe you make them for good reasons. And maybe one of the reasons is because you want to strive harder against a specific temptation or your fruit of repentance involves a resolve to change a certain habit.
Do you really think you will be perfect in your resolve? Be honest, it won’t happen. Do you really think you are worthless when your resolve is broken? Cheer up, I have good news for you.
“He will certainly deliver the poor person who cries out,
as well as the afflicted, and the one who has no helper.
He will take pity on the weak and poor.
He will save the lives of the poor.
From oppression and violence he will redeem their lives,
because their blood is precious in his sight” (Psalm 72:12-14).
Who is “He” mentioned above? Your Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. On Epiphany he is revealed to you as your Savior. He has come to rescue you from all of your broken resolve and loads of guilt. When you feel worthless because of what you’ve done he tells you that your blood, you yourself, are precious to him. Because he considers you precious he entered our humanity to deliver, save, and redeem you.
Maybe your resolution involved getting to know your Savior more and to spend more time in his Word. For that I have a resource for you to assist you. It is a site called Bread for Beggars. Breadforbeggars.com It is a site filled with multimedia Christ centered resources that can assist you in your devotional life. For example, there is a Bible 100 resource that can give you a plan to read Scripture everyday for 100 days to give you a solid overview of our salvation history. There is also a devotional resource by Pastor Luke Italiano, most recently his You are not… series, that may appeal to you in your own life’s situations. Check out Bread for Beggars. You may find something useful.
Because beggars we are. Spiritually poor, afflicted, helpless on our
own, weak, spiritually oppressed. But we
are not without hope. God’s Word reveals
to us our deliverer, our helper, our Savior, our Redeemer. He considers us precious.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Philip Janke
Winnebago Lutheran AcademyCoordinator of Recruitment and Communication
Member congregation of the
N7987 Town Hall Rd
Eldorado, WI 54932
Email us
Phone: (920) 872-2785
