Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 11, Number 2, DeMotte, Jasper County, 28 November 1940 — THE PASTOR'S COLUMN [ARTICLE]

THE PASTOR'S COLUMN

by Rev. Geo. Gotsch,

Pastor of

the St. John’s Lutheran Church of Union Township

This coming Sunday is not the last Sunday of the church year, as erroneously stated by us in the last “Pastor’s Column”, but, indeed, the beginning of a new church year, and it is called the first Sunday in Advent. In this new church year we shall, God willing, preach on a series of Scripture lessons taken from the epistles and called The Eisenach Epistles. They are beautifully adapted for a short series for each festival cycle, namely Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and Trinity. For the second half of the church year we shall have series of sermons on the beginning of Christian life, the unfolding of the individual Christan life, the Christian in various relations of life, and finally the consumation of Christan life. Our text for Sunday, Hebrew 10: 19-25, is very fitting for the first Sunday in Advent, the preparatory season for Christmas. “The day is aproaching” In a few weeks we shall celebrate the coming of the Son of God into the flesh, when He came down from His heavenly throne in great humility and was born a little child in Bethlehem to become the Savior of the whole world. And even now “we see the day approaching” when He shall come once 'more from His heavenly throne, but not in lowliness, but in glory and majesty to judge the world in righteousness and to receive them that are His, that believe in Him, into His kingdom of glory.—Let us be ever ready for His coming. This new church" year is for us another year of grace. May it serve that high purpose of bringing us closer to Him, at whose right hand we desire to stand on that great day of reckenning. Let us make the advent resolve which wo find in our text, “Let us Draw Near!” Let us do so in full assurance of faith; in steadfast avowol of our hope; in mutual encuragement to love., and good works. NOTICE! Young people—do you attend a young peoples’ society? If not, the young people of the American Reformed Christian Endeavor'invite you to their Christian Endeavor meetings Sunday evenings at 7:45. The topic for this Sunday evening, Dec. 1, is “How Our Bible Came to Us.” The leader will be the pastor, Rev. Steunenberg. Everyone is welcome. At the last business meeting the Christian Endeavor officers elected for the new year were: Laura Kooy, pres.; Sadie Peterson, vice-pres.; Anna Mae Moolenaar, sec.; and Theodore Moolenaar, treasurer.