Sermon: 4th Sunday in Lent – 2010

Rev. Dan Berteau’s sermon on Luke 15, exploring love of God the Father and His concern for His children – especially those who were “lost” but have now “been found”.

Sermon: 2nd Sunday in Lent – “Congruence”

Pastor Berteau talks in his message today about matching words and deeds – and that the Word is Jesus Christ.

Call Meeting and Call Service on Feb. 21 and 27

I am pleased to announce that the Trinity Call Committee has completed the interview process for potential pastors and now is prepared to share with the congregation the names of pastors who will be presented to the congregation for the call.

* Call Information Meeting *

On Sunday, February 21, there will be a Call Information Meeting following the late service. The Women’s League of Trinity will provide a light lunch in Belvedere Hall where brief biographical information of the final candidates will be distributed. The Call Committee members will answer any questions concerning the call process and the pastoral candidates. More extensive candidate information is still available for viewing in the church office. Please contact Anne Combes (tlc@trinitylutherannorfolk.org) for an appointment if interested in viewing the documents. Child care will be provided by Trinity’s Youth Group for this meeting.

Please note that this is an information meeting only and is NOT the call service.

* Call Service *

At 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 27, Trinity Lutheran Church will have a Call Service in the sanctuary. At this service, Communicant Members of Trinity will determine by ballot which pastoral candidate will be issued a call. Only Communicant Members of Trinity Lutheran Church will be issued ballots. Child care will be provided for this service by Trinity’s Youth Group.

This is always an exciting time in the life of a church, so I look forward to seeing all of you next Sunday and the following Saturday. Please continue to pray for the candidates, the call committee, and that God’s will be done as we discern who He has already chosen to be our next pastor.

- Jim Hoeft, president

Sermon, Readings, and Collect for Jan. 31

Because church has been canceled for tomorrow due to the inclement weather, Pastor Berteau has shared his sermon via text.

Also, please take a few moments to conduct the readings:  Jeremiah 1:4-10; 1 Corinthians 12:31 – 13:13;  Luke 4:31-44

And, here is the collect:

Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright.  Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen.

Enjoy your weekend and may God bless you!

Sermon: 15th Sunday after Pentecost

Voluntary: 6th Sunday after Pentecost

Not sure what the name of this music as played by our organist Kai Lin is, but it was awesome.

Prayer Retreat at Trinity

Please join us on August 15th for a Prayer Retreat. [Read more]

Sermon: “Finding Strength in Weakness” – July 5, 2009

In this week’s sermon, Pastor Berteau discusses “weakness” and how it falls into God’s plan for us.

Sermon: Fifth Sunday of Easter

Pastor Berteau delivers the sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter.

SED Convention Day 2: State of the District and Q&A on the Synod

Day 2 of the convention is underway and we have heard a report from Pres. Diefenthaler on the state of the district, had a question and answer session with Pres. Kieschnick, and approved a couple of bylaws.

Here are some things of note…

First, from Pres. Diefenthaler, he spoke about the 70th Anniversary of the district and that the same core mission of the district remains almost the same as it was in the beginning, and that is it is a mission truly given to us from God and that the same urgency still exists. In 1939, it was the looming war. Today, it is economic uncertainty. The bottom-line is that the grace that comes from Jesus Christ still needs to be shared with the community.

Diefenthaler stated that the Ablaze! goals are well on the way to being met. By Oct. 31, 2017, the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Church, the Southeastern District is looking to meet certain goals in prayer, faith-sharing moments, mission teams, outreach, etc. As I become more aware of these goals, I will share them with Trinity.

The president also was extremely proud of the fact that 118 congregations and 166 major donors, at a nearly 50-50 split, contributed close to $5.9 million to Ablaze! This is just short of the $6 million goal, but well beyond the $2 million that many said was the most possible.

Diefenthaler also explained the motives to change the staff at the district and that there are three full-time in-house directors for Mission Development, Congregational Outreach, and Stewardship and Finance. There are also three deployed facilitators to help with urban outreach, spiritual life, and church transformation. The motive to change is to have a staff that meets the following question: What kind of staff does the district need to meet mission goals by 2017?

which leads to a question for not only the district, but also us at the congregational level: What decisions do we need to make today to ensure the implementation of our mission tomorrow?

While the district has also upped its tithing to LCMS, it has implemented a salary freeze, cut travel expenses, and has gone to some business practices for some cost savings. It is their goal to demonstrate responsible stewardship.

Second, just a couple notes form Pres. Kieschnick’s Q&A:

He said that the single greatest threat to the synod from within are who is eligible to receive holy communion and the role of women, particularly with respect to ordination. He also said that from outside the synod it is a shift from being Biblical, Evangelical Lutherans in a churched country to exisiting “in a society that is indifferent, if not downright hostile, to the Christian faith.”

He addressed the issue of same-gender marriage and homosexuality and that the recent hate-crimes legislation passed in Congress may pose a challenge to our church as we continue to refuse to marry homosexuals.

“Culture is a huge challenge as we continue to be faithful and evangelical,” said Kieschnick. “But we must continue to speak the truth in love and do whatever it is to remain faithful in the face of criticism and harrassment.”

Regarding the service of women as voters, layleaders, council members, etc. He said that the LCMS does not prohibit a woman’s franchise nor ability to serve, accept in cases where they supervise ordained ministers.

“I do not believe LCMS will change it position on the ordination of women,” he said.

However, he also mentioned that congregations are welcome to express there dissent though congregational assemblies and regional gatherings, stating that a synodical convention does not always present the best location to discuss differing theological perspectives. within the by-laws of the LCMS, processes of dissent do exist.

Finally, Pres. Kieschnick is excited about three documents from the Council on Theological and Church Relations which will discuss Male and Female relations, the Environment, and inter-Christian relationships (something the council has been working on since 1981).

To conclude Pres. Kieschnick reminded the convention that God has given us all the ability communicate the “unsearchable riches of Christ” within our congregations and community.

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