Thank you to all the families who came to our 3 day VBS this year! We had so much fun with you all!
During the 3 days we played with frisbees, we played soccer, we played eagle’s nest, we made crafts, we played with the crafts, and we heard about God’s gameplan for us! It was so much fun having each and every one of you here!
How many times have you pondered the thought, "why did God allow that to happen?" Maybe this is in reference to having to cancel a trip with some friends. The day before you were planning on leaving your dog starts acting funny. He won't eat and seems unlike his normal self. Not wanting to leave him sick with the sitter, you decide to cancel your plans and take your dog to the vet. After a shot of antibiotics, your dog is on the mend and doing better. Was this a random coincidence, or was it planned by God to save you from a car accident the following day?
Perhaps you pondered that thought when a loved one passed away suddenly. You thought they had many more years on this earth. Why did God decide to take them now? Why not wait until they were old and gray? You had many plans set in place with them and wanted more memories with them. Perhaps God was saving them many more years of pain and suffering with cancer. His plan for them was greater than their own.
It is hard to make plans because plans always change, but that doesn't mean we should stop making them. The apostle Paul understood this when he promised to see the Corinthians again. He made plans to see them, but God changed his plans. To the Corinthians, Paul may have seemed like a liar. Did he really want to see us at all? Why would he say 'yes' and then 'no'? Paul made plans to see them, but God's plans were greater.
When plans change, it can be hard to trust God because things aren't going the way we hoped. Our sinful nature leads us to question God when he allows things to happen that are against what we want. We ask ourselves, "Can I trust anything God says?" The answer is yes. Every single plan and promise that God has ever made has been "yes" in Christ. Are your sins really forgiven? Yes. If you believe and are baptized will you really be saved? Yes. If those are true, then are God's plans for you really better than your own? Yes. When plans change and things aren't going the way you thought they would, trust God. Trust that he is taking care of you and has your eternal welfare always at the forefront his heart. Let us always be quick to say "amen" and trust God's plan for us even when ours change. Amen.
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 1:20
What is your favorite Independence Day tradition? Is it sitting in the backyard with a cold drink in your hand and the smell of the grilled meat wafting through the neighborhood? Is it going to the parade or the fireworks show when the sun goes down? Is it going up north for the extended weekend to get some sun and time on the lake? Is it all the above?
Who would have thought that almost 250 years later, we would celebrate our Independence from the crown of England in almost the same fashion as they did back then? Traditions die hard, don't they? Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to change a thing, but I hope during all the celebration, we put down for a moment all the star-spangled pomp and circumstance to take a moment to thank God for all the freedoms he has given us. The freedoms we enjoy in this country are thanks to him, but how too easily we can indulge ourselves with all that freedom. We have the freedom to do this-and-that, but is that how God intended it? Is that the best use of those blessings? Not always.
Christ has called us to be free. We are free from sin and free from death. That freedom is better than any other we enjoy in this country, because it didn't just free us from another oppressive country, it freed us from an eternity separated from God. With all that amazing freedom in the palm of our hands, how should we use it? To indulge our sinful flesh? Certainly not. The heart of a Christian with freedom from God should not say "Look what I can do," but rather, "Look what I can do for you."
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh: rather, serve one another humbly in love.”
Galatians 5:13
Planning is underway for our Vacation Bible School! Here are the basics…
Wednesday August 10th, Thursday August 11th, Friday August 12th
9:00am until 11:30am
At St. Paul Clintonville (31 N Park Street)
This event will be for kids PreK-8th grade
Each day will feature different activities, including games with frisbees, soccer, and kickball
The cost is $5 per participant (max of $20 per family)
We ask that you register by August 1st to help us prepare for everyone
We are extremely excited for this fun event and cannot wait for it! To find out all the details and to register, go the vbs page on our website: stpaulclintonville.com/vbs
What qualifies as an age? We us the word “age” to describe many things. We grow in age every day, but we celebrate aging one year on our birthday. Periods of history have been described as an age. These ages go on for hundreds or thousands of years. The Bronze Age, for example, is said to have lasted 3300BC to 1200BC. Because we live in time and space, we use ages to help us track time and put things into neat, little categories. In a roundabout way of speaking, God set these ages up at creation. He created day and night, the sun and the stars to help us keep track of time. He gave us the ability to track ages of time based on the creation he made for us to use. For God, '“ages” don’t mean the same thing. He lives outside of time. An age to us is the blink of an eye to him. He has been since before time existed. He will be long after time ends.
Does the thought of ending ages make you feel anxious? When I think about it, I would be lying if I said I didn’t. We have been given a finite amount of time on this earth. Every year seems to go by faster and faster and we feel less and less in control.
While we just celebrated the ascension of our Savior, he has not abandoned us here to live out our “age”. He is with us. Jesus doesn’t need to be here physically for him to be with us. He is with us in his word and sacraments, He is in control of all things and moves heaven and earth to take care of us every day. He is with us always and will continue to be until every age ends when he comes again. When that day comes, there will be no need to worry about that age ending. We will enjoy the perfect age of heaven with our God who loves us and will always be with us.
“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”
Matthew 28:20
The Sunday School year is over and it is a great time to look back and say “Thank You”. Thank you Sunday School teachers for your consistent hard work, for giving your time, and for week after week teaching the Gospel joy to the children! We know it took a lot of time and effort over the last nine months and we are grateful that you were willing to take on this challenge. Thank you!
Join your voices with ours and with our fellow friends in faith from around the area! This year's Ascension Service will take place Thursday, May 26th at Grace Sugar Bush. The service and celebration of our risen and ascended Lord begin at 6:30pm. Our choir will join other singers in a special anthem.
Address
E9680 Church St.
New London, WI 54961
To get to Sugar Bush from Clintonville
Go south on US Hwy 45, turn left onto Cty. WW, take next left onto Church St.
Thank you Clintonville for your support this year during our Rummage Sale and Grill Out. This year it was great! With your help, with your purchases, and with your donations we have raised a total of $775! That is a LOT of money. This year we decided to give the money raised from this event to the Clintonville Food Pantry. In these challenging times, it is great to know that we can help others who need the basics.
Thank you to everyone who donated items this year. Thank you to everyone who donated time this year. Thank you to this church family, who through the Evangelism budget, paid for the food we sold to help maximize our gift to the Clintonville Food Pantry.
We made it through another Holy Week and Easter. We spend weeks preparing our hearts and minds for it and in a matter of four days, it’s over. Service after service go by. Somber songs turn into joyful praises. The cross that held our Savior is bare and the tomb that encased him is empty. Christ is risen, just as he said! Alleluia!
While the Easter season is all but over; known as Low Sunday, the Sunday after Easter tends to show a decrease in church attendance. Where is the joy of the empty tomb? Not surprisingly, this happens all over the world. People are just “churched” out. I’m not saying this to guilt trip anyone. Many pastors tend to take the week off after Easter as well. “Low Sunday” is also given its name because the high festival of Easter has a time time being topped the next week, as one can imagine.
To combat this “lull” we celebrated Evangelism Sunday. We took the news of the risen Savior and the empty tomb and thought, “What can we do with this good news?” We can share it! We have the most amazing gift of all and we have been given a task by the Lord to “Feed my lambs.” Jesus first spoke this to Peter. It seems that at times Peter had a problem focusing on the task at hand. His arrogance often got in the way of him seeing the bigger picture of the kingdom. Jesus even asked Peter if he loved him three times to make sure he understood what he would be facing in the future. This goes to show how well Jesus knew his disciples, and how well he knows us. What does our future hold? It’s hard to say. What we do know is that Jesus holds our future and the future of his kingdom in the palm of his hand. Where can we go to be assured of this when the world seems to be out to get us? The house of God. As summer approaches and the non-festival half of the church year may seem “low” and boring, that is where we learn what we are to do with the amazing gospel we have been given. Allow Jesus to ask you the same question he asked Peter, “Do you love me? Feed my sheep.”
From Pastor Rothfuss, Newsletter Volume 1 Issue 3, May 2022
If you really want to know what the true Christian faith is, visit us this Holy Week. We are at the climax of our yearly journey to the cross, the final sacrifice. Come and see who Jesus Christ truly is. Come learn from him. Come see the painful weight of your sin and come rejoice in the victory we could never win. Holy week and the time around it gives us an emotional rollercoaster that teach us about the fullness of God’s love. Join us in person at 31 N Park Street in Clintonville, WI or join us on our Facebook and Youtube pages during these worship opportunities or after.
Palm Sunday
Sunday, April 10, 2022
Service at 9am
Sunday School and Bible Study to follow
The appointed time draws near when Christ, true God and true man, would be the Sacrifice that makes us right with God. Come, and join in with those early worshipers as they praised the Lamb of God!
Maundy Thursday
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Service of the Servant at 6:30pm
Join us as we meditate on Christ, the true servant of all. We see him commemorate the Passover from Moses day. In that Passover feast we see a picture of what Christ himself would do. He is our Passover Lamb, the final sacrifice. He came not to rule this world, but to serve.
Good Friday
Friday, April 15,2022
Service at the Cross 1:30pm
Come mediate on the Sacrifice of Ages, Christ suffered and died. Those words seem so light compared to the reality of it. He suffered physically, yes, but he himself bore the sin of the world. He, Christ was forsaken by God. Jesus died to rescue you.
Good Friday Evening
Friday, April 15,2022
Service of Darkness, 6:30pm
Come reflect on the weight of your sin. On the cross, Jesus, the pure and holy Lamb of God, was forsaken by God. He took our punishment for us, he took the immense punishment for the whole world. Join us as we meditate on the last words of the dying Savior.
The High Festival of Easter
Sunday, April 17, 2022
Morning at the Tomb Worship at 6:30am
This is our High Festival Day! Come to this early service as we sing hymns and hear the blessed promises of God. Celebrate Christ victory, which is ours by his grace. This service will be completely different than our 9am service.
Easter Breakfast Social
This is our Festival day, start it off with the Word and then follow that up with a feast! From around 7:15am until 8:45am there will be a free breakfast potluck in the church basement. Make this day even more of a celebration with some great food! You are welcome to come and join us.
The High Festival of Easter
Sunday, April 17, 2022
Festival Service at 9am
This is the feast, the victory of our God! This is our High Festival Day! Christ was crucified and yet death could not conquer him. Truly, Jesus Christ is Lord! Let us celebrate the victory Christ won for us! Alleluia and Amen!
Our Reaction
Sunday, April 24, 2022
Evangelism: Our Reaction Worship at 9am
Sunday School and Bible Study to follow
What is our reaction to all of this? What is our reaction to the weight of our sin and the fullness of forgiveness? Come, join us for this special service as we consider our reaction to God’s grace upon grace.
