The Ongoing Feast
Alleluia, Christ is risen! Let alleluias ring! Christ’s resurrection makes all the difference, as St. Paul affirms: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain.… And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15).
Christ’s resurrection is a bodily resurrection, not some sort of mythical “spiritual” resurrection. After he was raised he appeared to his disciples, who thought they were seeing a ghost. But he invited them to touch him. He ate and drank with them. He showed them many convincing proofs that He who had been dead was now alive again, raised bodily from the tomb.
Christ’s bodily resurrection means bodily resurrection for us on the last day, when he returns. Christians’ sure and certain hope isn’t “dying and going to heaven,” but rising from the grave. Just as Christ has made us alive spiritually through the Gospel and Baptism, so He will make us alive when our flesh comes forth from the grave at His coming. He is the “firstfruits of those who sleep,” the “firstborn from the dead,” as Scripture words it. Our Lord Jesus has gone before us and cleared the way. Just as he went before us in death on the cross, so he has prepared the way of resurrection for us, as our pioneer.
For this reason the Easter season is the highest season of the church year. It is an ongoing feast that doesn’t end with Easter Day. Most other feasts last one day. Easter lasts fifty. For fifty days we celebrate this greatest of all our Lord’s works for our salvation. The liturgical color remains white, the color used only for feasts and festivals. We fasted for forty days during Lent, but we feast for fifty. In our church calendar forty days of suffering and sorrow are swallowed up by fifty days of life and joy. Alleluia! Christ is risen! “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” Alleluia!
Pastor Ludwig
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
LCMS Stewardship Ministry –
lcms.org/stewardship
Newsletter Article – April 2024
Whose Is It Anyway?
If you have ever bought or sold a house, you are acquainted with the concept of a “title search.” Before you can sell your house, and before anyone else will feel comfortable putting down the money to buy it, you have to prove that you really own it. So a title company looks through the public records to ensure that you bought it from the person who really owned it, who bought it from the person who really owned it before that, all the way back to the earliest records of your state, including when your state was only a territory or colony of England.
Peek into a preschool classroom during playtime and you’ll see a simplified version of this. A child starts playing with a ball, but another child says, “That’s mine: I had it first.”
You can’t understand the Seventh Commandment without understanding this concept of ownership or title. As the Small Catechism puts it:
You shall not steal. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.
Your neighbor’s possessions are his: you don’t have a right to take them. And likewise, your possessions are yours. Ownership and property rights are foundational to any functioning society.
But there is something deeper to know about ownership, and that is the question of who has the title and ownership to you? Paul says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:19–20).
If you yourself are owned by God, then of course everything that you own, you really only possess by God’s leave: all of it, at bottom, belongs to Him since you belong to Him. For you were bought with the blood of Christ.
This notion is the foundation of all Christian stewardship. It all belongs to God. It should all be used for things that bring honor to His name, blessings to our neighbors and the extension of His kingdom.
Our Savior
April Birthdays
1 Linda Rauscher 16 Aurian Tschappat
3 Kinsley Christianson 18 Phyllis Lassanske
4 Peggy Dennert 20 Muriel Pigors
4 Leroy Krage 20 Tom Siebert
8 Ethan Andreasen 22 Dawn Neussendorfer
8 Levi Haar 23 Justin Scepaniak
8 Mitchell Nehlich 25 Kierra Navurskis
9 Maralyn Hoops 27 Mark Wendt
14 Cheryl Pietz 28 Tevin Johnson
16 Dorothy Maas 28 Charlotte Scepaniak
Anniversaries
3 Nairn & Joyce Hermansen
11 Paul & Jody Haar
17 Vernon & Anna Korab
24 Dale & Joelle Thone
30 Charles & Morgan Angerhofer
30 Lloyd & Vicki Jerde
Meetings in April
LWML – Mon Apr 1st at 3:30 pm
Board of Elders – Thur Apr 11th at 5:15 pm
Church Council – Thur Apr 11th at 6:30 pm
Voters’ Meeting – Sun Apr 14th at 9:30 am
Nursery Circle – Sun Apr 14th after the service
Board of Education – Sun Apr 21st after the service
The Quarterly Voter’s Meeting at Our Savior will be Sunday, April 14th at 9:30 am. Please attend to help conduct the business of the church.
The Church Council will meet Thursday, April 11th at 6:30 pm to prepare for the voters’ meeting.
Elders for April – Douglas Klipfel & Don Hoops
Acolyte Schedule:
April 7 – Cassie McKown & Cashlyn Angerhofer
April 14 – Caleb Siebert & Tucker Brick
April 21 – Tristan Tschappat & Rhylan Tschappat
April 28 – Ally Johnson & Rhyan Johnson
Portals of Prayer for April through June are available in the narthex.
Dual Parish Service & Presentation – Sunday, April 7th we will have a joint dual parish service at Our Savior at 10:00 am, with Pastor Andreasen preaching. Immediately after the service, he will give a presentation about how he and his family will serve as missionaries in Romania.
Sunday School will begin at 9:00 am on April 7th, then return to 9:30 on the 14th.
Circuit Youth Retreat – Saturday, April 6th at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Aberdeen. There will be separate sessions for catechism students and high school students. Please contact St. Paul’s to register at 605-225-1847. We request $5 per youth to pay for lunch.
Schedule:
9am – Matins 12:30pm – Lunch
10am – Session #1 1:15pm – Game
11-11:30am – Game 2:00pm – Session #3
11:30am – Session #2 3:00pm – Closing Vespers
The Senior Potluck will be Tuesday, April 9th at noon. Join us for good food and fellowship!
Saturday Bible Study – April 13th 9:00-11:00 am at Our Savior. The topic is yet to be determined.
Family Game Day & Potluck hosted by the Board of Education will be Sunday, April 28th. There will be a potluck after the service, followed by Bingo and other games. All are welcome! Enjoy the afternoon with your church family.
The Lutheran Witness – Going forward, there will be a change in how you receive your Lutheran Witness magazine. Our Savior will order a bulk subscription which will be delivered to the church, and members can pick it up there. They will be hand-delivered to our homebound members. The SD District news insert will still be included. Since the cost of magazines has nearly doubled in the last few years, the congregations of the South Dakota District of the LCMS have voted to end the policy of required blanket subscriptions, because some churches can no longer afford it. We do receive a discount on the bulk order. Individuals can subscribe on their own if they’d like it delivered directly to their home.
The Lutheran Witness provides great information, instruction, and encouragement from our confessional Lutheran perspective, therefore the church encourages you to continue reading it. The April issue is available in the narthex at Our Savior.
Vacation Bible School is set for June 2 – 6, 2024. The theme is “Celebrate the Savior!” Of all the blessings God gives us, His Son Jesus is the biggest reason to celebrate. Starting with Jesus’ birth and concluding with His resurrection, children will learn about Jesus’ unending love and forgiveness.
Hours are from 6:00 to 8:30 pm, with time for a sack lunch from 5:30 to 6:00. Registration forms will be in the Sunday bulletins soon. Friends, neighbors, and relatives are welcome also!
The Board of Education needs teachers and helpers in all areas. There will be a sign-up sheet in the library area soon. Please consider your talents and how you can help serve.
Set Apart to Serve – LCMS Church Work Recruitment
Are you thinking about a second career in full-time church work? Many LCMS pastors, teachers, deaconesses, and commissioned church workers held other successful careers before pursuing a second career in service to Christ’s church. You could do the same!
Have you been praying about a full-time vocation in the church? You can use your experience and skills from your current work as a second-career church worker.
Ready to learn more about opportunities to pursue a second career in full-time church work? Our seminaries and Concordia universities are happy to answer your questions. Visit lcms.org/sas for more information.
Our Lutheran schools, located all around the country, are seeking educators who are interested in a Lutheran school setting. If you are interested, speak with a local LCMS school administrator about open positions in your area. locator.lcms.org/school
St. John’s Columbia
April Birthdays
2 Desa Larson
9 Tanner Podoll
10 Easton Larson
18 Jason Podoll
21 William Wolter
22 Jessica Podoll
24 Joann Saunders
26 Cole Kampa
27 David Yeske
29 Katie Moser
St. John’s Usher List
April 7 Karl & Val Eichler
April 14 Dean & Lorie Ringgenberg
April 21 Logan Ringgenberg & John Bisbee
April 28 Brent & Barb Miller
Camp Minneboji
Located at Camp Okoboji, Milford, Iowa
Sunday, June 16, 2024 to Saturday, June 22, 2024
Registrations for Camp Minneboji are open! Camp Minneboji is our District Youth camp for youth completing grades 4-9, held every year at Camp Okoboji in Milford, IA. This year’s theme is “Blessed” from Matthew 5:1-12. Early bird registration is open now until April 1st; regular registration closes May 1st or when we are full, so register early! To register or get more information, please check us out at minneboji.com or on the South Dakota District website.
Our Savior Lutheran Church
624 North Jay Street – Aberdeen, SD 57401
St. John’s Lutheran Church
23 North James Street – Columbia, SD 57433
Phone 605-225-7106, Email
oursaviorlutheran@nvc.net
Website:
www.oursaviorlutheranchurchaberdeen.com
Rev. Alan Ludwig – Cell # 509-540-9083
Email:
lutheranprof@gmail.com
Pastor Ludwig will be in the office during the morning on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Secretary’s office hours: Mon-Fri 9:00am – 2:00 pm
