November Devotion

In the month of November, particularly on Thanksgiving, we like to take a moment and thank God for all the many blessings he gives us. More than eating ourselves into a coma as we watch the football game, that's what thanksgiving should be about - giving thanks.

It's easy to be thankful when things are going well. We can look around us at all the many ways we have been blessed by God and can't wait to thank him for them. It's not easy, however, when times are tough. When we think about the chair that will sit vacant for the first time at the table on Thanksgiving this year, what do we have to be thankful for? When all the food was given to us this year because the money wasn't there to buy it ourselves, what do we have to be thankful for? When the people we love are too busy to join us and the phone doesn't even ring, what do we have to be thankful for? It's not easy to be thankful in all situations, but we should be.

God does not promise that we will not have moments when we struggle to find the good in every situation. God does not promise that sin will not continually come knocking on our door on this side of eternity. What he does promise, is that he will continue to take care of us and give us a multitude of reasons to be thankful in every situation. Just the fact that our Savior took away every sin and gave us the promise of our eternal life to come is enough of a reason to be thankful every minute of every day. Every day of your life, in every situation, with thanksgiving, lean on your God who loves you and blesses you always. Amen.

Pastor Caleb Rothfuss

Christmas Schedule 2022

Christmas is coming and our schedules are filling up… make sure to keep Christ a priority this Christmas season. Here are some special events and services to note from our church family.

November 23 Wednesday

         Thanksgiving Eve Service @6:30pm

November 26 Saturday

         Men’s Breakfast Bible Study @6am

         Christmas Decorating @8am-10am

November 27 Sunday

         Worship Service @9am  

         Sunday School @10:15am

         Bible Study @10:15am

November 29 Tuesday

         Book Club @6:30pm

November 30 Wednesday

         Shared Meal @5:30pm

         Advent Service @6:30pm

December 4 Sunday

         Advent Tea @12:30pm

December 7 Wednesday

        Shared Meal @5:30pm

         Advent Service @6:30pm

December 10 Saturday

         Men’s Breakfast Bible Study @6am

December 11 Sunday

         Worship Service @9am  

         Sunday School @10:15am

         Bible Study @10:15am

December 13 Tuesday

         Sisters in Christ @6pm

December 14 Wednesday

         Shared Meal @5:30pm

         Advent Service @6:30pm

December 17 Saturday

         Sunday School Service Rehearsal starting @9am

December 18 Sunday

         Worship Service @9am  

         Sunday School @10:15am

         Bible Study @10:15am

December 24 Saturday

         Children’s Christmas Eve Service @7:00pm

         Carols by Candlelight  @8:30pm  

December 25 Sunday

         Christmas Festival Service @9am  

December 31 Saturday

         New Year’s Eve Service @6:30pm  

January 1 Sunday

         Worship Service @9am  

Thank You Clintonville: Trunk-or-Treat 2022

A huge thank you to our neighbors and friends who visited us during the city’s Trick-or-Treat hours! It was great seeing all the fun costumes and all the smile! I know we had fun with all the fall games and challenges, we hope you did too. We love our community and hope to keep seeing you around.

Thank you from the St. Paul Clintonville church family

Mission Festival 2022

Join us Sunday, October 16th for a special Mission Festival. This year we welcome Seminarian Caleb King to our church. Caleb is in his final year at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. A few years ago he spent time teaching English in Linares, Chile. The Lord used Caleb's time in the foothills of the Andes to share His Word and grow His Church.

Seminarian King will preach during our special service. After the service, Seminarian King will talk about his time and the opportunities he had to share the Gospel during his South American adventure. Finally, as a church family we will share a meal. Don't miss out on trying the different chili dishes!

Join us October 16th at St Paul Clintonville!

Fall in Clintonville

The warmth of summer has ended here in Wisconsin and that means we get to enjoy the beauty of autumn. Here are some photos we wanted to share…

Trunk-or-Treat 2022

Since the city is having their annual Trick-or-Treat time and since our neighbors will be out and about walking past our church, we want to take advantage of this opportunity. Stop by us during the city wide Trick-or-Treating hours. There will be a high concentration of candy given out by many of our members who don’t live in town. We will also have a bunch of games/contests that you can play to get full sized candy bars. Yep, the good stuff :)

Stop by St Paul Clintonville on Sunday, October 30th from 4pm until 7pm

October Devotion

“Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.”

Matthew 13:30

As the first day of Autumn has come and gone, harvesting around here is in full swing. Gardens are looking sparse as plants give their last effort to produce food. Stands on the side of the road are full of sweet corn, tomatoes, pumpkins, carrots, and many other good things. Now that our garden is done for the season, it was my task to pull the plants out and dig up the garden. As pulled the plants out, I noticed all the weeds we failed to pull along the way. Whoops! The weeds that grow in-between the rows were easy to spot and pull, but the ones that found shade under the giant cucumber and squash leaves were a different story. When a plan gets big enough, we didn't find it as dire to make sure every weed is pulled because they don't threaten the health of the large plants.

Jesus uses harvest analogies many times in the gospels because to his original audience, the metaphors would hit home. For many of us with gardens or to those that at least know a thing or two about how planting and harvesting works, it makes sense too. From the moment we are baptized, that seed of faith in our hearts begins to grow. With constant watering and nourishment from the word of God, the seed turns into a beautiful tree that eventually produces fruits of faith. While our faith is young and fragile, much like a small plant, weeds also grow among us. They threaten to cut off our supply of the good things we need to survive and grow stronger.

Could God just snap his fingers and take all the weeds away? Yes. But that wouldn't give us a chance to show our fruit to those who need to hear it. God wants all to be saved, but our time is limited. Eventually, the harvest will come, but while we wait, we need to make sure we are constantly receiving the word of God that strengthens us and prepares us for the harvest. When God sends his angels for the harvest on the last day, we will be able to show the fruit we have been producing. In doing so, God tells us we are storing up a harvest of righteousness in heaven. God knows who are his. He knows what he's doing. We trust that he will continue to cause us to grow stronger until the harvest comes. Amen.

Pastor Rothfuss

Sunday School 2022 begins...

Sunday School is back in session! On Sunday, September 11th we were blessed by being able to install 2 new Sunday School teachers. Thank you for your time, effort, and service! Beyond the 2 new lead teachers, there are several back up volunteers and helpers. Thank you!

This semester the Sunday School children will be strengthening their knowledge of events and lessons from when Christ walked this world.

Sunday School happens after the service (and after the kids have a snack). If you come visit us, feel free to send your children to Sunday School. After the service they can go downstairs. If it is their first time coming or visiting, please go down with them. We would like to say hi and to make sure we know everything we need to about the kids.

Devotion: September 2022

by: Pastor Rothfuss

A major cause of strife in marriages is talking about finances. What should be done with the money? How much should go in savings each month? What if things are tight? School payments are coming around very soon - are you ready for them? These conversations are not the most fun to have. They can tear families apart, but they need to happen for the sake of the family.

What about those conversations in a church setting? If asked, I'm sure most would use the word "awkward" to describe them. If these conversations are difficult in the home setting with your spouse with whom you agree on many things, how much more difficult with people you may not agree with. In the church setting, the sheer number of opinions goes up exponentially, but those conversations also need to happen for the sake of the congregation.

Where is the best place to have those conversations? From the pulpit? In the church basement? Not at all? While the Bible does not speak about finances abundantly, Paul was not afraid to speak to fellow believers about the importance of giving and supporting. Instead of viewing our giving to God as this "need" that we must do or else the Almighty is going to be mad at us, we should strive to see it as a privilege we have been given to support the gospel ministry and reach those that have not heard the wonderful news that their sins are forgiven in Christ.

These conversations can be awkward. After all, how can you put a number on our thanks to God? How much is enough? The answer is, "whatever you have decided in your heart to give." If, while finances are tight, that number is lower than you'd like it to be, give cheerfully! If, when blessings flow in your life, you are able to give more, give cheerfully! If, like Abel, we come before God with hearts overflowing with thanks, no matter how much it may be, God will love what we have given. God has blessed us all abundantly in our lives even though it may be hard to realize sometimes. We have all we need because the love of Jesus fills us to the point of overflowing. Should our response to the abundant love of Jesus in our lives be an awkward thing to talk about? I pray it isn't. I also pray that we all may be filled with the love of Jesus and abound in good works of giving so that together we can work to seek and save the lost. Amen.

Namesake Sunday

On August 14th, 2022, we held a special service focusing on St. Paul, our church’s namesake. What is the meaning of the name? During the service we had many readings from Paul’s writings. These readings reminded us of who Paul was and how he lived. By Paul’s examples and the writings the Holy Spirit led him to write, Paul points to Christ. He lived for and gave all to the one who redeemed him. Take a look at this special service. The service itself was filled with lots of readings from Scripture so that God’s Word could speak for itself.

The service was followed by an extra special presentation. Pastor Caleb Rothfuss shared pictures and stories from his study tour to places Paul went.

Click here to view the worship folder.