Say your prayers!

May 20, 2025

Dear Friends,

A quick word about CONCORDIA.

I've been talking the last couple of Sundays about our mission. You can listen at the beginning of the sermon here and here.

You can summarize our mission well with these verses from St. Paul:

"May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live:

1)   in such harmony with one another,

2)   in accord with Christ Jesus,

3)   that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Romans 15:5-6

I've been focusing first on IN ACCORD WITH CHRIST JESUS, since it comes first in terms of priority.

We live in accord with Christ Jesus when we believe and confess unashamedly as Lutherans that He is our Lord and Savior. We are brought into accord with Christ Jesus through His Word and Sacraments, which are the heart and soul of our congregation.

That is why Sunday Worship is the center of our lives as Christians. It's there that we are brought into accord with Jesus.

My goal (and I'd like it to be our goal) is that every member of Concordia is in church every Sunday.

There are good and bad ways of working towards that goal. Bribery, for instance, is no good – it would be unfaithful for us to offer cash rewards for coming to church. So, what tools has God given us?

Here's the starting place: First of all, pray.

Think of someone you haven't seen in church in a while and pray for them, including a prayer that God would bring them back to church. (You can pray for yourself, if this is you!) If you can't think of anyone to pray for, ask me and I can give you an assignment.

Just as we pray for folks who have been taken ill, we should be even busier with prayers for spiritual needs. Folks who are missing from worship are missing out on the food of God's Word and the medicine of the Lord's Supper!

Stay tuned for more in the weeks ahead!

Then, a couple reminders:

Our circuit Ascension service is coming up! Thursday, May 29th at 7pm, hosted by Holy Cross in St. Cloud. Join in the festival worship and in the fellowship afterwards!

And, mark your calendars for hot dogs and a softball game with the folks from St. John's, Kimball on Sunday, June 22 at 12pm after Bible Study! The game will be with a 16″ mush ball, so no mitts are required and all can play. Cheerleaders and base coaches are also welcome! Sign up here if you're interested in playing: concordialcms.com/softball

God bless and keep you,

Pr. Buchs