Welcome to St. Paul's Lutheran Church

It is our mission to share the love of God in Christ Jesus to our members, our community and the world in which we live.

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*January 8, 2021


43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? Matthew 5:43-46


Dear friends and members of St. Paul’s,


This is a verse that is good in “theory”, but it gets a little frustrating when those we do not like are impacting our life in ways that are difficult. We are tempted to lighten the impact of the above words by replacing them with “love all people” or inform our Lord that good Christians do not or should not have enemies. Jesus will have none of it, and so he cuts through all our excuses for “not loving” (calls our bluff) and says “it’s easy to love those who are like you, for even the tax collectors do the same.” When he says “love your enemies” he does not ask us to ignore them or even see the best in them. In our world both of these approaches may not be possible. Rather, he does not want the “enemy thing” to limit our love for others in any way shape or form. Like many of you I was deeply disturbed by the events that happened this week in our nation, and I’m afraid our country may be on a path to even deeper division. How we are to live in that world as the body of Christ is the million dollar question. Being reminded of the above words from our Savior is a good place to start.  

Blessings in Christ,
Pastor

P.S. Check out Romans 5:10. Apparently, we are also the recipients of this kind of love.

2021 Church Officers and Terms

Please Click Here to see the list of Church officers and Terms for 2021

  • Weekend Worship: This weekend’s worship theme for this the first Sunday of Epiphany is titled “The Church’s Epiphany Mission” based on Ephesians 3:1-12. You can sign up for worship at Weekend Worship Services: January 9th and 10th Weekend Worship (signupgenius.com) Next week’s theme is “Temples of the Holy Spirit” based on 1 Corinthians 6:12-31
  • The Installation of 2021 congregational Officers and Board Members will take place this weekend at each of the services. Due to social distancing individuals who are able to make it to church will stand at the pew during the installation.  
  • Sunday Morning Zoom Bible Study: This week our 9:30am-10am Zoom Bible Study will look at the Wiseman in Matthew 2:1-12, and Isaiah 60:1-6. Copies of this study will be made available on Sunday morning. Click on https://zoom.us/j/99639140328?pwd=S3ppUUFhSVFBQjNwcXdnKzUzdGVxdz09 to join the study.
  • In Person Sunday School/Adult Bible Class: We are planning to start in person Sunday School and Bible Class the first Sunday in February.  
  • REMINDER: The next Voters Meeting is Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 6:30 PM.
  • Life Night: This Sunday from 5-7pm for those in grades 5-7. This night will include food, devotions, and activities. We are limiting the event to 15 people, so please contact Pastor Krenz, Christian Schmitt or Aaron Beckman by Saturday at 6pm to make a reservation.
  • Sunday School: Starting in January our Seminary Deaconess student, Alicia Benning, will be posting the weekly Sunday School lesson on You Tube. Check it out!
  • Summer VBS: Mark your calendars for Sunday June 20th to Thursday, June 24th. Carleigh Ottwell will once again be this years VBS director.
  • Communion Devotionals: Wednesdays at 9:30am and 5:30pm. Please sign up online.
  • January/February Meetings Schedules: When meeting with your particular group at church we kindly ask those attending to wear a mask throughout their particular meeting. We also respect the decisions of those who, due to covid-19 health concerns, will not be attending a particular meeting.
  • Portals of Prayer for January-March are on the table in the narthex. Please pick one up as you leave.
  • Youth News: -Youth bible studies are now being held in the Youth Room at 9:15am every Sunday morning.
  • -Thank you to all those who participated in the youth Christmas Basket Fundraiser. A total of $356.00 was raised and will go towards next year's mission trip. Winners of the 3 baskets were: Ray Bense, Donna Tolbird, and Brenda Appel - Congratulations!
  • - We plan to do Life Nights on the 2nd Sunday of each of the next four months.
  • Envelopes: If you have not yet picked up your 2021 offering envelopes they can be found in your church mailbox.

Location and Times

Sermon Archive

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St. Paul's Preschool

Historic Building Info

Employment Opportunities

Address

227 North Good Haven,
Columbia, IL; 62236

Contacts

Email: pastork@stpauls-lcms.org
Phone: (618) 281-4600

Service Hours

Sunday 8:00 AM
Sunday 10:30 AM
Monday 7:00 PM

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