Connecting People to Jesus

Good News

Telling the truth in a community

involves a vulnerability that not

everyone is comfortable exposing.

I enjoy telling the truth when I

have good news to share. When I

have bad news, I am fearful of

how the bad news will be re-

ceived. I believe we will be a

stronger community when we can

share the wholeness of our lives.

When I can trust you with both

the good news and the bad news

of my life, I know that we have a

bond that will not be easily bro-

ken. Communities of people who

love the truth, live faithfully, and

respond gratefully are wonderfully

safe places to grow and unfortu-

nately remarkably rare. The

church is called to be exactly such

a community.

David wrote in Psalm 86, “Teach

me your way, O LORD, that I

may walk in your truth; give me

an undivided heart to revere your

name. I give thanks to you, O

LORD my God, with my whole

heart, and I will glorify your name

forever. For great is your stead-

fast love towards me.” David

prayed these words with gratitude

to walk in God’s truth. In these

words from the psalms we also

are invited to walk in God’s truth

and revere His name with an

undivided heart. You do not need

to hide a part of your life from

God. Trust God with your whole

life and discover how He cares for

all of you. God is not only inter-

ested in your piety and whole-

some works. God is interested in

your sins, struggles, shames, and

sorrows.

Because we want to be good, or

at least appear to be good

enough, we will compare our-

selves to others. When we com-

pare ourselves to others, we will

sometimes come up short. In

those moments when we do not

measure up, we are prone to-

wards hypocrisy and deception so

that we do not fall too far behind.

In the close connections of a

community it can be difficult to

keep up appearances and cover

our failures. If we struggle with

truthfulness, we will then either

deceive in order to look better or

we will find ourselves feeling

more and more like an outcast. If

everyone else around us is living

life easily, is there room for us

and our failures? Truth stumbles

and honesty caves in when we feel

like we need to pretend to have

everything sorted out. I think that

the bundles of lies, secrets, and

silences that are necessary to

appear okay can be very exhaust-

ing.

I believe that if our community

was dependent on our own right-

eousness and holiness we would

become a bunch of liars and de-

ceivers so that we could still justi-

fy belonging to the community.

Jeremiah wrote that the human

heart is “deceitful above all

things” (Jeremiah 17:9). Our

world is filled with deceit and lies

in order to prop up our vanity.

But our redeemed community of

believers is called to be different.

We can put away the lies and

hypocrisy and speak the truth.

Followers of Jesus are called to a

Truth by Pastor Gaertner

December 2015 Good News Please pray

that we, in our bustling, may stay connected with the true source of this holiday season, Jesus Christ.

for comfort and strength for those suf-fering “quiet” illnesses.

for those serving our country.

that the Lord would abundantly bless the efforts of the LCMS and its partners in the com-ing years, and that these efforts would always be God-pleasing and filled with godly wisdom.

Inside this issue:

Surprise! 2

Librarian Recom-

mendations

3

Does Your Will or

Living Trust Work?

4

In Our Community 4

The Church and

Her Music

5

Youth News 6

Calendar 7

common life of grace and truth

built on the promise that we are

loved by God according to His

grace and His truth.

Truth-filled communities are con-

nected to Jesus because Jesus is

“the way, and the truth, and the

life” (John 14:6). When we trust

Jesus to be the framework for our

life and relationships, we are in a

better position to address our

sins and failures. We can confi-

dently face our need to repent

because we truthfully respect the

gap between our goodness and

God’s righteousness. Paul told the

Colossians, “Do not lie to one

another, seeing that you have

stripped off the old self with its

practices and have clothed your-

selves with the new self, which is

being renewed in knowledge ac-

cording to the image of its crea-

tor” (Colossians 3:9-10). We do

not need to lie to hide the thread-

bareness of our own deeds. We

can confidently tell the truth that

we have sinned and fallen short of

the glory of God because we trust

that we are clothed in the love of

Jesus Christ.

When we confess our sins, we

are being honest with God that

we have sinned. We can be clear

with God, because in Jesus, we

have received the clear promise

of God’s love. Not only can you

Continued on page 3

Good News Page 2

“Our prayers

are too small,

but God's

power extends

through all time

and space, to

eternity and

infinity.”

We are eavesdropping on a

pious Jew in his home at his

prayers in 1 or 2 B.C. What is

he likely to be saying to his

God? Of what sins is he re-

penting? For what blessings is

he asking for? And would his

wife be praying the same pray-

er as her husband? In many

ways their prayers would be

similar to ours today. They

would certainly pray for better

economic conditions, since

most were poor, compared to

our lives today. They would

pray for their children to have

better health and a more pros-

perous future, both of which

were substandard, compared

to our generation. They would

pray that the Lord would re-

solve the conflicts between

them and their extended family

or in their city. They would

pray the Lord to forgive their

anger or selfishness or greed,

for they were imperfect peo-

ple like us.

They might have prayed for the

Lord to reestablish the glorious

kingdom of David and Solomon

immediately, and to throw

down their Roman overlords

now.

Instead God sent them a Messi-

ah with ideas that conquered

not only Palestine, but the

whole Roman Empire but, it

took several generations.

They might have prayed for the

Lord to make them rulers over

others. Instead, God sent His

Son to live as the servant of all,

and to teach that the exalted

life is one of service to others.

They might have prayed for

greater prosperity for them-

selves and their existing civiliza-

tion. Instead, God empowered

His people to discover better

ways to utilize His resources

here on earth and change the

economy of the whole civiliza-

tion. At the same time, He

taught us how to adopt those

habits of mind which make us

content, whatever our circum-

stances.

They might have prayed for the

Lord to show greater partiality

to His chosen people, the Jews,

over the outsiders, the Gen-

tiles. Instead, God sent some of

His chosen people to convert

the Gentiles, and we worship

as Christians today because of

these disciples.

In our living, we comprehend

only a small part of the infinite

reality of God's creation. So

when we pray, we can see only

to the horizon of our human

limitations. Our prayers are

too small, but God's power

extends through all time and

space, to eternity and infinity.

We pray for a job promotion, a

winning lottery ticket, a victory

at football, a high examination

score, affection from a friend,

an Atta boy from the boss.

God may bless us with a job

assignment that overwhelms us,

but makes us grow to be more

competent and more useful. A

situation at work may force us

to look elsewhere, to a new

job or even a new career path.

Financial reverses may force us

to be more disciplined and

more realistic in our desires.

The health problems of a family

member may cause us to grow

in compassion and responsibil-

ity and endurance, and we may

be the blessing that they prayed

for. The appearance of an un-

expected child entails future

years of parenthood and nur-

ture, but enriches our family

and community.

When we are powerless

against an opponent, we may

learn to be more humble, a

lesson that many people never

get to learn. A poor examina-

tion result may force us to

examine ourselves and to be-

come more conscientious

in our study habits.

As we pray our way through

life, we can be certain that God

cares for us -- and that He will

surprise us. Given God's field

of vision and our comparative

blindness, we should ask God

for just a peek at the future, so

that we can understand our

own life and our place in God's

world. The Lord's Prayer is a

good start. We acknowledge

the supremacy and the power

of God. We ask for enough

material blessings to keep us

going. We repent and ask for-

giveness of both enumerated

and unconscious sins, and we

ask God to direct our feet by

His will to His Kingdom.

Those Jewish people of long

ago were not praying for a

powerless little baby, born to a

poor couple, in an undistin-

guished Palestine city, to

change the course of the

world. But He did it, and histo-

ry is our witness. Humbly ask

God to guide you. He will sur-

prise you.

Surprise By Tim Hurst

Good News

Why Santa Left the North

Pole – Youth, by our own

Church member John Marti-

nowicz and illustrated by his

Father-in-law.

Mandie and the Forgotten

Christmas (DVD)-Youth

Thrust into the unfamiliar

world of boarding school, Man-

die finds herself plagued by

rules and regulations---and

constantly in trouble with the headmistress, Miss Heathwood.

Taking refuge in the school's

attic, she stumbles upon a mys-

tery that could unlock memo-

ries of a long-forgotten Christ-

mas. But is Mandie willing to lie

to find out the truth? 107

minutes.

Christmas in Harmony

by Philp Gulley

It's certain to be a holiday un-

like any other in Harmony

when Dale Hinshaw gets a

brainstorm about a progressive

nativity scene that involves the

whole town! Pastor Sam Gard-

ner isn't too keen on the idea--

-but Dale is unstoppable. Up-

roariously funny and heart-

warming, here's a delightful

story about the true meaning

of Christmas. 96 pages, hard-cover from HarperCollins.

Christmas Blessing by Donna VanLiere

In The Christmas Shoes, young

Nathan Andrews was a child

who lost his mother to cancer.

Now his deepest wish is to

become a doctor. When a

stranger named Robert gave

him the money to buy his

mother a pair of shoes for her

last Christmas, both Robert

and Nathan learned the deep-

est lessons of love and giving.

Now a medical student in his

third year, Nathan realizes there

are still things to be learned

about faith, blessings, and sacri-

fice. Lessons he will learn from

Meghan Sullivan-a young woman

born with a hole in her heart

that has not kept her from be-

coming a champion runner. And

lessons learned from a young

boy named Charlie, who teaches how to live a life of true cour-

age. Together, they will help

guide Nathan through the dark-

est period in his life. The Christ-

mas Blessing is an inspiring about

hope existing in the darkest

places, and love is always the

greatest gift of all.

.

Librarian Recommendations By Jean Schneider

Page 3

If your child would like to

participate, please sign up in

the Narthex or contact Christi

Gaertner at:

christigaertner@gmail.com or

810-355-1600.

Be sure to include the name of

the musician, the instrument,

and the song title. Please sign

up by Sunday, December 13 so

Christi can plan the order the

students will play.

twelfth grade have the oppor-

tunity to share their musical

talents as preservice music.

Instruments may be piano,

flute, trumpet, etc. Children

may also sing if they arrange for

accompaniment. Musicians of

all levels are invited to share

their talents with the congrega-

tion and the Lord. Songs

should be Christian (about

Jesus), not secular (about San-

ta). Musicians should wear their

Sunday best.

The Sunday school staff is glad

to see students in worship and

Sunday School, Holy Huddle,

and Bible class. We know that

this time at church is a chance

for your whole family to grow

in faith.

This year the Sunday school

students will not present a

Christmas program. However,

on Sunday, December 20 be-

fore the 11 am service, stu-

dents in kindergarten through

to 8pm. You can get those

things finished. No need to

stop and make dinner. Lunch

and dinner is provided. $20 per

table. Call 734.878.5977 for

more information.

Crafters!!! Want some quiet

time after the holidays to enjoy

your favorite craft and fellow-

ship? This is the thing for you.

Come to Trinity Lutheran

Church 5758 W/ M36 Pinck-

ney, Saturday, Jan 9 from 8am

Share the Story with Music by Christi Gaertner

Trinity Invites you!!

“...to the sound

of the horn,

trumpets, and

cymbals, and

made loud

music on harps

and lyres ”

Chronicles 15:28

be clear with God, you should be

clear with one another in our com-

munity. Our community should

be held together with something

more substantial than a facade of

goodness. Our community should

be held together by truth and

love.

Truth Continued from pg 1

Good News Page 4

In Our Community

On December 9, we will join

Mary. She declares in her song

that the Lord has remembered

His covenant with us through

His Son. Mary’s song provides a

melody of remembrance.

On December 16, we will join

the song of the angels when

they announced with great joy

the Good News of Christ’s

birth. The song of the angels

echoes through our days as a

melody of rejoicing.

On Christmas Day the song of

the church carries the angels'

message of peace, good will to

all the world, and resounds as a

melody of reconciliation. In

Christ we find ourselves recon-

ciled to God and with one

another.

In this season filled with music,

our Advent midweek services

focus on the biblical songs of

God’s people as they awaited

the Savior. Each week in the

series, we will learn about a

song from Scripture that high-

lights an Advent activity that

will prepare us for Christ’s

coming among us as a baby in

Bethlehem. I encourage you to

join us in our newly renovated

fellowship hall on December 2,

9, and 16 at 6pm for a simple

supper and then join us in the

sanctuary at 7pm for Vespers.

On December 2, we will sing

with Zechariah when he cele-

brated that his newborn son

will be a prophet, sent to pre-

pare the way of the Lord.

Zechariah’s song will serve as a

melody of repentance for us.

law may not work well either.

It could cost thousands in add-

ed taxes. Nor can you feel

confident in a document that

has not been updated to reflect

major changes in your family

life or financial affairs.

Does your will accomplish

everything you want? Is it up-

to-date? Is it valid? Do you

even have a will or revocable

living trust? Have you consid-

ered leaving a gift to the minis-

tries most important to you?

Sunday, January 17, 2016, be-

tween the services at 9:45 a.m.,

Some wills won't! A will or

trust that's out of step with

your other estate planning

documents may not work. Let's

say your will dictates that your

entire estate is to pass to your

spouse and yet your life insur-

ance policy indicates a different

beneficiary. Does your living

trust supersede your policy and

redirect the insurance pro-

ceeds to your spouse? Proba-

bly not.

An out-of-date will or living

trust that fails to take full ad-

vantage of current estate tax

St. Paul Lutheran Church is

hosting a Christian Estate Plan-

ning Seminar and has invited

Bill Burmeister, the Gift Plan-

ning Counselor from Michigan

Church Extension Fund, to

assist our members in the

preparation of documents to

use when consulting with an

estate planning attorney or

other qualified advisor regard-

ing a will, a living trust or what-

ever else may best suit your

needs.

Does Your Will or Living Trust Work? By Bill Burmeister, Gift Planning Counselor

Hark the Glad Sound Advent Midweek Series

On Wednesdays, December

2, 9 and 16, everyone is

invited to join us for Advent

Suppers! This year all food

will be provided. We will be

asking for a free will dona-

tion. In past years Thrivent

Financial provided money for

our Christmas shopping for

children through the pro-

gram Angel Tree, giving gifts

to the children who have a

parent in prison. This year

Thrivent Financial is encour-

aging a different approach.

They are giving us $250 to

use as seed money and with

that money we hope to raise

at least $800 to purchase

gifts for children. Please join us any Wednesday, or every

Wednesday, and please con-

sider making a donation to

this worthy cause.

Good News Page 5

sentimentality, or even to be

entertained, but by this pattern

we see that the saints that have

gone before us, from both Old

and New Testament, have

shown music to be a response

by us to the great gifts of God,

singing back to the Lord about

his mighty works, his awesome

power, and his great compas-sion. The Church sings in its

triumph, in its humility, in its

sorrow and in its joy with a

voice that the world can never

silence. If you have any musical inclina-

tion whatsoever, we will find a

group for you. As Lutherans,

we have a rich and impactful

history of church music and

church musicians that has had a

profound effect on the world.

At St. Paul, we carry the tradi-

tion forward. Listed below are

the opportunities to serve

musically in the coming sea-

sons.

Musical opportunities for

Advent and Christmas:

Festival Choir: We will have a Festival Choir

for the 7 PM service this

Christmas Eve (12/24). Come

all singers, and invite your

friends! There will be two Sun-

day rehearsals: December 13

and December 20, all following

the 11:00 A.M. Divine Service.

Plan on the rehearsals running

until 1:30 P.M. Contact Chris

Mowers

(mowersch@gmail.com) for

more information.

Winds and Strings: For those who would like to

accompany our Christmas Eve

When Israel crossed the Red

Sea and Egypt was thrown in,

Moses and his sister Miriam

sang. When Hannah was told

that she would have a child, she

also sang. David, too, was full

of song; the Old Testament

Church adopted his songs

along with some others as its

hymnbook, the book of Psalms. David also gave very specific

instructions as to how music

would be a part of worship in

Israel, words that thousands of

years later J.S. Bach would

mark in his own Bible, writing,

“Note well: This chapter is the

true foundation of all God-

pleasing church music.”

There are plenty of uses of

music in the New Testament as

well. Jesus and the disciples

sang, perhaps most notably

immediately prior to their de-parture from the Upper Room

for Gethsemane. Paul in his

letters inserts several passages

that are likely some of the first

hymns penned in light of the

death and resurrection of

Christ. Finally, no section of

the New Testament is more

filled with song than the first

two chapters of Luke, the

chapters that describe events

before, during, and shortly after

the birth of our Lord Jesus.

The songs of Mary

(“Magnificat”), Zechariah

(“Benedictus”), the Angels

(“Gloria”), and Simeon (“Nunc

Dimittis”) are still used in vari-

ous forms in our worship to-

day. The world may believe that the

Church uses music merely for

emotional stimulation or for

Services with a wind or string

instrument, we will rehearse on

Saturday, December 19 at 10

A.M. Contact Chris Mowers

(mowersch@gmail.com) for

more information.

Handbell Choir: Information regarding Handbell

Choir for Christmas is forth-

coming. Contact Su Hausch

(smhausch@gmail.com) for

more information.

Kantorei: Kantorei is a choir whose pur-

pose is to support the worship

life of the congregation at St.

Paul. Most of the work of the

Kantorei is in unison or simple

harmony, so the ability to read

music is not essential. Kantorei

will sing on the third Sunday in

Advent (12/13), Christmas Day

(12/25) as well as all Evening

Prayer services on Wednesday

nights during Lent. Rehearsals

for this season will be brief and

take place immediately before

Wednesday Evening Prayer.

Contact Chris Mowers

(mowersch@gmail.com) for

more information.

There is no such thing as an

instant church musician, only

those who have been given

opportunity to grow into the

role. If you have any musical

ability, and you would like to

grow in that ability and use it

to serve your church, let Pas-

tor Gaertner, Bob Vedder, the

church office, or the group

leaders listed above know. Any

of them will be glad to speak to

you and direct you to the right

group for you.

The Church and Her Music By Christopher Mowers

Good News

LAC

morning at 9:45 am and then

with gift lists in hand we will go

shopping. Bring along money

for a ‘fast food’ lunch and if

possible a contribution of $5 –

$20 for gift purchase.

Page 6

Youth

News by Mike Hausch

IMAC

5th and 6th Graders of St

Paul

On December 20, at 6:00 pm,

we will do Christmas caroling

and we invite your family to

attend with you. We also invite

members of the St. Paul church

family to join us as we bring the

joy of Christmas to our mem-

bers and friends who have a

difficult time getting out and

about during this time of year.

Members of IMAC are asked to

bring a dessert to share at the

end of the afternoon activity.

Warm beverages will be pro-

vided.

Youth group for 7th and 8th

graders – those in Confir-

mation instruction

Saturday, December 5 we will

go shopping for Angel Tree

gifts. Can you imagine what it

would be like to have one or

both parents absent on Christ-

mas? For some children that is

reality! But we can make a

difference in the lives of these

children through a program

called “Angel Tree”. Standing

in the gap for a parent who is

in prison, we purchase gifts and

deliver them in time for Christ-

mas. We will meet Saturday

“In Christ Alone” National

Youth Gathering: We are

doing Preparation and Planning

for the gathering in New Orle-

ans on Sunday, December 6,

right after the 11:00 am wor-

ship. Lunch will be provided.

Senior High Youth

Good News Page 7

DECDECEMBER

Sunday

7:30 a.m. Fresh Brew Bible Study

8:30 a.m. Divine Service

9:45 a.m. Education Hour

11 a.m. Divine Service & Kids’ Connection

5 p.m. Tough Questions

Monday

9 a.m. Quilters

11 a.m. Women’s Bible Study

Weekly Schedule

Tuesday

9 a.m. Old Timers

7 p.m. Boy Scouts

Wednesday

8 a.m. Classical Conversations

6 p.m. Advent Simple Supper Dec. 2,9,16

7 p.m. Evening Prayer Dec. 2,9,16

Saturday

8:30 a.m. Men’s Bible Study

9 a.m. Altar Preparation

10:30 a.m. AA/Alanon

St. Paul’s Special Events and

Scripture Readings December

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 Isaiah 7:10—8:8, 1

Peter 3:1-22

2Isaiah 8:--9:7, 1

Peter 4:1-19 3 Isaiah 9:8—10:11,

1 Peter 5:1-14 4Isaiah 10:12-27a, 33-

34, 2 Peter 1:1-21 5 Isaiah 11:1---12:6, 2

Peter2:1-22

9:45a Angel Tree shopping

6 Isaiah 14:1-23, 2

Peter 3:1-18 12:15p Youth Gath-ering Prep & Plan

7 Isaiah 24:1-13, 1

John 1:--2:14

8 Isaiah 24:14—25:12

1 John 2:15-29

6p Budget meeting

9 Isaiah 26:1-19, 1

John 3:1-24

10 Isaiah, 26:20—

27:13, 1 John 4:1-21 11 Isaiah 28:14-29, 1

John 5:1-21 12 Isaiah 29:1-14,

Jude 1-25

13 Isaiah 29:15—

30:14, Revelation 1:1-12 12:15p Festival Choir Practice

14 Isaiah 30:15-26,

Revelation 2:1-29

15 Isaiah 30:27—31:9,

Revelation 3:1-22 16 Isaiah 32:1-20,

Revelation 4:1-11 17 Isaiah 33:1-24,

Revelation 5:1-14 18 Isaiah 34:1-2, 8—

35:10, Revelation 6:1-17

19 Isaiah 40:1-17,

Revelation 7:1-17 10a Brass rehearsal

20 Isaiah 40:18—

41:10, Revelation 8:1-13

9:45 Blessed Oppor-tunity Dedication

10:45a Children’s Preservice Music

12:15p Festival Choir Practice

6p IMAC Caroling

21 Isaiah 42:1-25,

Revelation 9:1-12 12:30p Love Knots

22 Isaiah 43:1-24,

Revelation 9:13--10:11 23 Isaiah 43:25—

44:20, Revelation 11:1-19

24 Isaiah 44:21—

45:13,20-25, Revela-tion 12:1-17 4p Christmas Eve Worship

7p Christmas Eve Worship

10p Christmas Eve Worship

25 Isaiah 49:1-18, ,

Matthew 1:1-17

10a Christmas Day Worship

26 Isaiah 49:22-

26;50:4-51:8, 12-16, Matthew 1:18-25

27 Isaiah 51:17—52:1;

Matthew 2:1-12 28 Isaiah 52:13—

54:10; Matthew 2:13-23

29 Isaiah 52:13—

54:10; Matthew 2:13-23

30 Isaiah 58:1—

59:3,14-2, Luke 1:26-38

31 Isaiah 60:1-22;

Luke 1:39-56

7p New Year’s Eve Worship

St. Paul Lutheran Church P.O. Box 490

Hamburg, MI 48139

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Phone: 810-231-1033 Fax: 810-231-1016

stpaul@stpaulhamburg.com www.stpaulhamburg.com

Facebook.com/stpaulhamburg

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Hamburg , MI Permit No. 53

Rev. Dr. Evan Gaertner, Pastor

TheRevEv@gmail.com

Michael Hausch, DCE

mike@stpaulhamburg.com

Worship Times

Sunday

8:30 am Traditional Divine

Service

9:45 am Christian Education

Hour for all ages

10:45 am Fellowship Time

11:00 am Blended Divine Service

11:00 am Kids Connection for

preschool—2nd grade after the

Children’s Message

Monday (During the Summer)

7:00 pm Traditional Divine

Service

Special Holiday Services

Nov 25 Thanksgiving Eve Service at 7pm Dec 2, 9, & 16: Advent Supper at 6pm Vespers at 7pm Dec 24 Christmas Eve Service 4pm, 7pm and 10 pm Dec 25 Christmas Day Service at 10am Dec 31 New Year’s Eve Service at 7pm