August 15, 2014

This Week at Christ Lutheran

Friday, Aug. 15 6-10 PM Heartland District Conference at Peace Lutheran

Saturday, Aug. 16 8AM—4PM Heartland Conference Sunday, Aug. 17 9:00 AM Worship at Carter Place 10:10 am Education hour Tuesday, Aug. 19 6:41 AM Men Praying for Revival at Dr. Christiansen’s Office 12 Noon Women’s brown bag lunch and fellowship 7 PM Worship & Music Committee Wednesday, Aug. 20 6:30 PM House of Prayer 7 PM “Tasty” study

Thursday, Aug. 21 6:30 PM Executive Comm. Sunday, Aug. 24 10:00 AM Worship @Black Elk Neihardt Park 11:15 AM Rally Sunday @ park 11:30 AM Potluck & games

Pastor Mark Degner

The fruit of the Spirit is given to every Chris-tian. When the Spirit works faith in our hearts He dwells within us. He changes us! He redirects us away from the works of the flesh (producing death) to the fruit of the Spirit (producing life). We now reflect Jesus’ qualities to the world. Who we are is now more impor-tant than what we do. To-day, we celebrate the Holy Spirit, who fills us with abundant fruit. May His fruit blossom and grow within us and in our church.

8/17/14 SCRIPTURES

Gen. 45:1-15 Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

Matthew 15:21-28 Sermon: Galatians 5:22-26

8/17/14 WORSHIP ASSISTANTS Greeter: Eloise Hiemke

Reader: Laurids Pedersen Usher: Laurids Pedersen

8/17/14 COFFEE HOSTESS

1. 2.

(Notify Carolyn if you are willing to bring.) Signup sheet will be available on Sunday.

Tenth

Sunday

After

Pentecost

Growing in faith

Sunday mornings— 10:10 AM—Adult

Education Hour and Sunday School (Carter Place)

Wednesday Evenings—

6:30 PM - House of Prayer (Carter Place)

7 PM— “Tasty, The Fruit of the

Spirit” study with Pastor Mark

Sunday, August 10th

attendance = 64

Worship and Rally Sunday

on August 24th

We will hold worship and Sun-

day school outdoors on Sunday,

August 24th. It will be at Black-

Elk Neihardt Park. We have re-

served the Picnic Pavilion at the

Park.

NOTE the SCHEDULE:

10:00 a.m. Worship at the

Park Pavilion

11:15 a.m. Scavenger Hunt

for Children

Noon Potluck

1:00 p.m. Games for all ages

Plan now to join us as we kick off

the new Sunday school and Adult

studies program year.

Bring your lawn chair, eating utensils, a dish to share and a grateful heart.

Tasty!

The Fruit

of the

Spirit

Beginning

Wednesday, September 3rd –

7:00 p.m. Carter Place

Who you are is more significant

than what you do! The Fruit of the

Spirit is the sign of a Christ-like life

in Galatians 5:22. Believers filled

with God's Holy Spirit will not just

do the things of Christ, but will be

at their very core people whose

lives resemble Jesus. This 9-part

teaching series looks at each part

of the Fruit of the Spirit from Gala-

tians 5:22 so that the whole char-

acter of the fruitful Christian be-

comes clear. Are you living a life

that others are craving? Enjoy

the Tasty Bible study and learn to

live a life of real influence and im-

pact.

OPEN DOOR MISSION

August 31

9 AM

Our congregation will once

again be leading worship and

Sunday school at the Open Door

Mission in Omaha. This will be

on Sunday, August 31st. Please

be part of this important out-

reach and service event.

Cleansing Stream

Begins September 2nd!

At our planning retreat our con-

gregation identified three priori-

ties for our short-range future: 1)

Prayer, 2) Discipleship and 3)

Developing our own Ministry

Center. It’s time to take action on

all three of these priorities. The

Cleansing Stream is a disciple-

ship program that empowers

participants to live a Spirit-filled,

Christ-like life. It helps people to

become more dedicated disciples

of the Lord Jesus.

The Cleansing Stream Seminar is

an 8-week series of classes which

prepare and disciple participants

to receive God’s healing. The se-

ries begins on September 2nd, at

7:00 p.m. The classes culminate

in a one-day Retreat on October

24-25, at Thanksgiving! Lutheran

Church, Bellevue. The Seminar

combines practical application of

Biblical truths and disciplines

with supportive relationships to

help you grow as a disciple of

Jesus.

Thoughts on prayer:

“Choose to view life through God's eyes.

Allow God to elevate our vantage point.

Start by reading His Word, the Bi-

ble...Pray and ask God to transform

your thinking. Let Him do what you

cannot. Ask Him to give you an eternal,

divine perspective.” – Chuck Swindoll

“Prayer, desperate prayer, seems so

simple, but it’s a step rarely taken by

those in family conflict.”– Erwin Lutzer

House of Prayer - this Wednesday at

6:30pm

This Wednesday our House of

Prayer session will focus on the

activation of our church to ad-

vance the kingdom of God. House

of Prayer begins each Wednes-

day at 6:30 p.m. Join us at Carter

Place for this vitally important

time of prayer. If we pray, our

church will be empowered! Our

community will be changed.

“God cannot deny a praying

church!”

Reason for Hope – LCMC Annual Gathering

in Des Moines

“But in your hearts revere Christ as

Lord. Always be prepared to give an

answer to everyone who asks you to

give the reason for the hope that

you have. But do this with gentle-

ness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15

Theme: Reason for Hope

Date: October 5-8, 2014

Location: The Iowa Events

Center (Des Moines, IA)

Christians are now living in a “post

-denominational era”; the way we

used to do church is no longer

working. Times have changed and

we now need to be able to defend,

explain and affirm our faith in

Christ alone. From October 5-8,

2014 leaders, pastors, and church

members from all over the world

will celebrate the 14th LCMC An-

nual Gathering and Conven-

tion. Since the gathering is so

close to Blair and so important, we

want to send a large group from

our church. Contact Todd Trimpe

or Pastor Mark, if you are able and

willing to attend.

Christianity is Not a

Spectator Sport

Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.

This Wednesday, we will share

what eight of our people heard

about this subject at the ARM

conference in Illinois. The Lord

wants to advance His kingdom

(His rule and reign in the hearts

and lives of people through us)!

We will discuss how that will

happen at Christ Lutheran

Church. This will be interesting

and informative. Plan to attend.

Why You Should Attend our

House of Prayer!

We must pray for our church!

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Prayer

bends the omnipotence of heaven to

your need. Prayer moves the hand

that moves the world.” We need you

there, even if you don’t pray out

loud. Simply stand in agreement

with your fellow believers in Christ.

Come and encounter God. Wednes-

day ~ 6:30 p.m.

Heartland District

Conference

August 15 & 16

Fremont, NE

David & Cindy Picton and Pastor

Mark are attending the Heartland

District Conference in Fremont Fri-

day and Saturday. Pray for our

church as we work with others to

share Jesus.

New Small Group Bible Study on Daniel One Sunday Evening

per month

Did you know that one of our small

groups just began a study of the

book of Daniel on Sunday. Sounds

interesting, doesn’t it? Contact Pas-

tor Mark if you would like to join

this group, or if you want to start a

new small group for study, prayer,

fellowship and service. We must be

in the Word of God!

HIGH SCHOOL STUDY OF

THE BOOK OF REVELATION Last Spring several teenagers expressed their interest in studying Revelation. CLC will be starting a study on the book of Revelation this fall. We will be calling to visit with each of the high school age in our congrega-tion. Currently we are planning to do this each Sunday morning during education hour. Class begins on...

September 7 at 10:10 AM.

Curt Barr and Jody Ptacnik

Cru is an extension of Campus Crusade for Christ, designed to disciple youth in the ways of Je-sus Christ. We would like CLC youth to be involved with Chris-tian groups in our community. Come and discuss with us.

BUILDING

COMMITTEE

UPDATES...

Survey is Out!

The Building Committee has con-

structed a survey regarding facil-

ity needs that has been distributed

to our members and friends via

email. We are seeking your input

as we move toward the construc-

tion of our own ministry center.

Check your email Inbox! Photo-

copies will also be available on

August 17 and 24 for those with-

out access to the internet.

Next Building committee meet-

ing is at 7pm on Aug 25.

Witnessing Tip

(a series of tips to improve your witness about Jesus to others) 16. Pray before a meal in a restaurant. Say: “I always pray before I eat, and I was wonder-ing if you have anything I could pray about.” You will be amazed how offering to pray for others leads to open doors to share your faith. Waitresses have broken down in tears and shared their deepest pain after being asked this question.

Women of the World—

You are called!

Annual Gathering of Women of the

Word – Augustana District

Theme Verse: Isaiah 43:1 “But now O

Jacob, listen to the Lord who Created

you. O Israel listen to the one who

formed you, do not be afraid, for I have

ransomed you. I have called you by

name and you are mine.”

We look forward to seeing you at our

Fifth Annual Gathering of Women of

the Word – Augustana District. The

Gathering will be held on September

20, 2014 at Living Word Church, Alex-

andria, MN, beginning with registration

at 9:15 a.m. we will have coffee/

muffins and donuts generously pro-

vided by area churches.

BIG Decisions!

Several significant actions were

taken by our congregation on July

13th: 1) It was unanimously de-

cided that we should hold trial

worship and Sunday school ses-

sions at Little Blossoms as soon

as possible to see if it will meet

our ministry needs; 2) It was also

unanimously decided that a build-

ing committee should be formed

and weekly updates be given to

our people on the progress made

in constructing a ministry center

at the Deerfield property. We

thank God for the unity of the

Spirit that He has given us, for His

direction for our fellowship and

for His blessing on our future.

Praise Him!

Invitation from Pastor Mary Fast…

Dear friends,

Sioux Falls Seminary has asked me to invite some of my friends to their one-day conference for women, next month. So, I am inviting you...

On Thursday, Sept. 4th, “Extraordinary Vessels:Using Your Influence for God’s Glory” will be held at the Scott Conference Center in Omaha. The cost is $30/person (conference like this are usually $150 and up). The cost is low because sev-eral organizations have given grants to cover the initial costs of the event. Spread the word at your church, in your neighborhood, and among friends. This promises to be a won-derful opportunity to have lunch with friends and come back with a whole new attitude about your value in God’s Kingdom!

This conference is for women of all ages and faith backgrounds. Please join us on the 4th of September! A brochure is attached!

Your sister in Christ, Pastor Mary Fast

Message from CLC

COMMUNICATION

COMMITTEE

We are putting a call out for indi-

viduals with technology abilities

to be part of a Video Team.

Things are underway for a video

ministry and streaming of our wor-

ship services for friends who are

unable to attend service. Training

will be provided. Please share the

technology gifts that God has given

you to serve Him! Contact David

Picton or Judi Pedersen if you have

questions and/or are interested in

serving in this way.

It was discovered that several fami-

lies and friends are not included in

the website’s directory. If you are

willing to have your contact informa-

tion included on our secure directory

section (Christlutheranblair.org/

Contacts/Church Directory/Link to

Directory), contact Jody Ptacnik so

the website can be updated.

Be sure to check out the addition to

the website...can you find it? Yep,

that’s it a new heading of “Weekly

Newsletter” under the Welcome

page.

One last request.....please be sure

to submit your committee minutes to

Karen Camenzind each month so

they can be added to the website.

Thank you.

CONFIRMED IN CHRIST JESUS

Jacob Kraft & Kayla Lyons

August 10, 2014