Welcome to St. John Lutheran Church-LCMC

From the desk of Pastor Geske....

Greetings in the name of Christ! I shared this article before, and it is good reflect upon it once again. During the month of July, we celebrate the gift that God has  given to us  through our nation. The United States of America is truly a blessed nation, and we are called to be blessing to the world. Among the blessings  of this  land is  the right that we have to worship. About the First Amendment to the US Constitution, I read, “The First Amendment (1791) prohibits  Congress  from obstructing the exercise of certain individual freedoms: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and right to petition. Its  Free Exercise Clause guarantees a person's right to hold whatever religious beliefs he or she wants, and to freely  exercise that belief, and its  Establishment Clause prevents  the federal government from creating an official national church or favoring one set of religious beliefs over another. The amendment guarantees an individual's right to express and to be exposed to a wide range of opinions and views. It was intended to ensure a free exchange of ideas even if the ideas are unpopular. . .”, (-Wikipedia)

With this Amendment, we see all kinds of faith, religious views, and some that are hostile to the Christ alone message of salvation. In Acts, we read, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be  saved.”  (Acts  4:12  NIV)  Therefore  as  God’s  people,  we  need  to  understand  and  be able to communicate and share what we hold to be true about our Savior and His work of redemption. We confess our faith to be reminded and encouraged about what we believe, teach,  and  confess.  In  a  document  that  summarizes  the  Lutheran  understanding  of several teachings. The first article of this document states, Of the Holy Scriptures

1.  We teach that the Holy Scriptures differ from all other books in the world in that they are the Word of God. They are the Word of God because the holy men of God who wrote the Scriptures wrote only that which the Holy Ghost communicated to them by inspiration, 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21. We teach also that the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures is not a  so-called  "theological  deduction,"  but  that  it  is  taught  by  direct  statements  of  the Scriptures, 2 Tim. 3:16, John 10:35, Rom. 3:2; 1 Cor. 2:13. Since the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God, it goes without saying that they contain no errors or contradictions, but that they are in all their parts and words the infallible truth, also in those parts which treat of historical, geographical, and other secular matters, John 10:35.

2.  We furthermore teach regarding the Holy Scriptures that they are given by God to the Christian Church for the foundation of faith, Eph. 2:20. Hence the Holy Scriptures are the sole  source  from  which  all  doctrines  proclaimed  in  the  Christian  Church  must  be  taken and  therefore,  too,  the  sole  rule  and  norm  by  which  all  teachers  and  doctrines must be examined and judged. - With the Confessions of our Church we teach also that the "rule of faith" (analogia fidei) according to which the Holy Scriptures are to be understood are the  clear  passages  of  the  Scriptures  themselves  which  set  forth  the  individual  doctrines. (Apology. Triglot, p. 441, Paragraph 60; Mueller, p. 684). The rule of faith is not the man­ made so-called "totality of Scripture" ("Ganzes der Schrift").

3.  We reject the doctrine which under the name of science has gained wide popularity in the Church of our day that Holy Scripture is not in all its parts the Word of God, but in part the Word of God and in part the word of man and hence does, or at least, might contain error. We reject this  erroneous  doctrine as  horrible and blasphemous, since it flatly contradicts Christ and His holy apostles, set up men as judges over the Word of God, and thus  overthrows  the foundation of the Christian Church and its  faith. (-Brief Summary Article 1)

We firmly  hold to God’s  Word as  we carry  the mission of God’s  church. We work  and walk together so that our corner of God’s kingdom, might know and understand the truth of God’s  Word and all that He has  done through His  death and resurrection to give us forgiveness of our sin and the certainty of eternal life. Our community and our world need the witness of God’s church in this land to tell them everything we have is a gift from God and He did not simply create us for this earth, but for an eternal life with Him in Heaven. All of us and those around us can get caught up in the troubles of this world and forget about our God who graciously takes care of us. We need a time and a place to worship and praise God with brothers  and sisters  in Christ. Daily  we are called to be in prayer and His Word and to honor Him by worshipping Him and remembering the Sabbath Day as a thank you for what Christ has done for us.

As you enjoy your summer, make worship a priority. Rejoice in the opportunities to grow in God’s Word and to be strengthen as you continue your Christ centered journey to your home in Heaven. God’s blessings to you!

In Christ,

Pastor Jeff Geske

St. John Lutheran Thrall Tx  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi4zvwH1MeCgONC8AUbqxIA

Our Sunday  school would love to have you

 and your child or grandchild

to be a part of learning more about the 

love and forgiveness of Jesus.

Please  make  the  study  of  God’s  Word  

a  priority  for  you  and  your

family. A church that is growing is a church that is in God’s Word.