Newsletters

God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity
 
On June 12 many Christian churches throughout the western world will observe the feast of the Holy Trinity. In our parishes, as has been the tradition for centuries, worshipers will confess the Athanasian Creed. The Sundays following will be numbered as Sundays after Trinity.

If someone asked you about the Athanasian Creed, the first thing that might come into your head is, “It’s long.” Your second reaction might be, “It’s hard to understand.” It is long. It can also be hard to understand in places, for two reasons: one, the language is a bit old-fashioned; and two, we’re not well attuned to Trinitarian language anymore. Terms such as “Godhead” and “substance” may not be a part of our everyday speech, at least, not with the same meaning they have in the Creed. So we might have the idea that the Trinity is some dry doctrine that has little to do with our real life.

Nothing could be further from the truth! The teaching of one God in three Persons isn’t for theologians in ivory towers. This teaching is practical for your life—for the simple reason that God, your life, has revealed Himself to be one God in three Persons.

There’s no salvation outside this God. The Athanasian Creed is crystal-clear here: “Whoever will be saved shall, above all else, hold the catholic faith …. And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity.” All who deny the Holy Trinity are outside the Christian faith and, as we confess in this creed, “will without doubt perish eternally.”

Why so? Is it that we must dot our doctrinal i’s and cross our t’s just so—as though God is some heavenly quizmaster who will judge us on how well we learned the finer points of theology and can give the right answers? Not at all! The fact is, if we know the true God, we know Him in only in the way He has spoken about himself in his Word. We came to know Him when we were baptized into relationship with Him. This came through His name being put upon us. This one name is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It’s impossible to know God in any other way than the way He comes to us in Baptism.

To deny the Trinity is to deny salvation. It won’t do to say that you believe in God but not Jesus, or believe in Jesus as Savior, but not in the Trinity. Why so? Because the Jesus who saves is the only-begotten Son of God and Himself true God. We can’t know Jesus and share in the saving work of his cross without acknowledging the eternal Father-Son relationship of God. And according to Scripture, we can only come to this knowledge when the Holy Spirit works such knowledge and faith in our hearts through the Gospel. The Father gave His only Son for us. The Son, risen and glorified, sends the Holy Spirit to us to bring us to know Himself, and through Him, the Son, to know the Father. People who speak differently have never known God, or else have turned from the saving knowledge of God. If I tell you that the President of the United States has six hands and ten eyes and four purple horns, you may rightly assume that I don’t know him. In the same way, it’s impossible to know God in any other way than as He truly is, in the way He makes himself known to us.

Well and good. But why does the doctrine of the Trinity have to be so complicated? Actually, it isn’t. It’s so simple that only childlike faith can grasp it. The Bible says there’s only one God. It also says that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God. Lastly, it distinguishes Father, Son, and Spirit from one another. And so we say that there is only one God, but this one God is Father, Son, and Spirit. Because Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct from one another, we confess that this one God consists of three Persons. It’s simple. At the same time, it doesn’t suit our reason. It’s such a deep mystery that no one can comprehend it in its fullness. But then, what kind of God would He be if we could fit Him into a neat compartment of our tiny minds?

Is the Holy Trinity a “dry doctrine”? Hardly! Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” “He said this about the Spirit, whom those who were to believe in him would receive” (John 7:37, 39). Jesus also said, “No one comes to the Father but through me” (John 14:6). The Bible’s teaching about Father, Son, and Spirit is much more than a fact to keep straight in our heads. It’s above all a glorious reality for our lives. Only this God who is One in Three and Three in One can satisfy thirsty sinners’ desires for forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life in fellowship with Him.
The Triune God is the God we believe in and confess and know now through faith. He is the God we’ll worship for eternity. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever! Amen.
 
Pastor Ludwig
 

---

Our Savior
                         June Birthdays
  1  Verdena Dabbert             15  Vernon Korab
  2  Jeanna Jerde                    15  Sandy Nelson
  2  Jasa Mayer                      16  Rayma Scepaniak
  3  Bethany Severson           18  Vickie Wilson
  4  Cheryl Markovetz           20  Caden Gelling
  5  Maci Johnson                  21  Collin Haar
  5  Oriole Nelson                  21  Fred Rauscher
  6  Eliana Klipfel                  25  Paul Dennert
  7  Debora Heine                  25  Delores Neumann  
  7  Justin Mayer                    26  Andrea Christianson
  7  Katie Person                    29  Courtney Salfrank
  8  Chris McHenry                29  Wilma Schnabel
10  Taylor Johnson                30  Berwyn Bain
10  Gavin Wollman               30  Dalton Lee
11  Gwen Petrich                  30  Norah McNeely          
            
                         Anniversaries
                   1  Dean & Gaylene Haar
                   2  Carl & Judy Bulian
                   7  Todd & Sheri Severson
                   7  Harlan & Barbara Wickham
                 10  Daryl & Maurine Bierman                           
                 13  Raymond & Joann Pomplun
                 29  Sheldon & Cheryl Finley

Elders for June – Douglas Klipfel & Don Hoops

Acolyte Schedule:
June 5 –  Briella Klipfel & Teigan McKown
June 12 – Jayda Siebert & Ally Johnson
June 19 – Tristan Tschappat & Raylee Brick
June 26 – Dalton Lee & Rhylan Tschappat

Meetings in June
LWML – Sun June 5^th at 9:00 am
Board of Elders – Wed June 15^th at 5:15 pm
Board of Education – Sun June 19^th after the service
(Nursery Circle will not meet in the summer. Meetings will resume in September.)

Saturday Bible Study – Join us for Bible study at Our Savior on June 11^th from 9:00-11:00 am.  The topic will be “The Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians”.
 
VBS is June 5 – 9, and our theme this year is “The Tree of Life”. We will see how God first promised the Seed, how the Seed had to die and be buried, how it sprouted into a tree reaching up into the heavens, how it grows branches, and how it produces fruit. The Tree of Life is Jesus and His Body, the Church! No greater truths can be learned than those about Jesus and the Church.
Hours are from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm, with optional time for a sack lunch from 5:30 to 6:00.
The children will present a program on Thursday, June 9^th at 8:00 pm with cake and ice cream afterward. Everyone is invited!

Diaper Derby – It's time again for the annual Diaper Derby promoted by Lutherans for Life.  This has become a friendly competition between the congregations of our circuit to collect and donate the most disposable diapers and baby wipes for those in need. There is a box in the narthex where you can place donations. Items will be collected until Father’s Day. This year, items will be donated to members of our own congregations.

Pictures for Anniversary Book – For our 75^th anniversary at Our Savior, the anniversary committee is putting together an addition to the 50^th anniversary book. If anyone has any pictures from the last 25 years that you’d like to share, email or bring them to the church office. If you would like to help plan and organize the book, please contact Eric Johnson at 605-216-6701.

Past Confirmation Pictures – There are a few past Confirmation pictures missing from our book. If anyone has a group picture from 2007, 2008, 2009, or 2020 could the church please make a copy of it for our book?

Carpet Fundraiser – If you wish to donate to the carpet fund, please mark your envelope and check with the amount that is for carpet and the amount that is for general fund. There is a chart in the fellowship hall that will be colored in as funds are received. Each carpet tile will cost approximately $22, but you are welcome to give in any amount you wish.
 
Summer Reading Program – CPH Reads: Summer reading that’s all about Jesus! Turn pages into points! From May 31 through August 12, kids can report their reading and earn points to have a chance to win prizes from Concordia Publishing House. All you need to do is register your readers at www.cph.org/reads and get started!

Traveling? Enjoy the Unity of the Faith!
Our actions speak, teach, and confess our faith in Christ and His work among us! When you are out of town or away for the weekend don't let that stop you from gathering to receive Christ's gifts in Word and Sacrament! Download the LCMS app to help you locate a sister church when you travel. You can also go to www.lcms.org to find a sister congregation via the "locator" in the upper right. We share a unity of faith which means that when we travel we are always home in our sister congregations where the Gospel is preached and the Sacraments are administered.

LCMS Ministry to the Armed Forces – The LCMS Ministry to the Armed Forces supports all LCMS chaplains who serve on active duty, in the reserves, the National Guard, Civil Air Patrol, and Coast Guard Auxiliary. LCMS chaplains deliver Word and Sacrament ministry to our military personnel and their families.
The LCMS cares deeply for those who currently serve, for those who have donned the cloth of our nation in uniform, and for those who served our nation and live in our communities.
For more information, go to www.lcms.org/ministry-to-the-armed-forces.
If you’d like to make a donation, there are brochures with an envelope in the narthex.
 

 Happy Father's Day!
 
 

Birthdays
  2  Micah Christianson           16  Joel Wilson
  2  Troy Podoll                        24  Paxton Eichler
  5  Trevor Podoll                     26  Stephanie Fehn
  7  Logan Ringgenberg           27  Arthur Eichler
10  Braelynn Chaston              30  Keith Underberg
13  Doris Larson

                              Anniversaries
                      3  Roger & Sharon Zastrow
                    17  David & Amy Faye Patton
                    19  Michael & Molly Ringgenberg
                   20  Dean & Lorie Ringgenberg                 

                       St. John Usher List
             June 5     Ray & Cyndy Larson
             June 12   Karl & Val Eichler 
             June 19   Roger & Sharon Zastrow
             June 26   Mike & Molly Ringgenberg
             July 3      Brent & Barb Miller
             July 10    Tony & Amanda Bisbee 
             July 17     Lyle & Cathi Podoll
             July 24     Dean & Lorie Ringgenberg
             July 31     Roger & Sharon Zastrow
             Aug 7       Cole Bisbee & Logan Ringgenberg
             Aug 14     Mic & Jen Daggett    
             Aug 21     Ray & Cyndy Larson
             Aug 28     Karl & Val Eichler