We had a great fall festival last week, including crafts, games, food, great costumes, and trunk-or-treating. We even had a surprise visit by a gorilla! Thanks to everyone who participated and for all the volunteers that made it possible.
We live to make Christ known.
Posts by Matt (Page 5)
Operation Christmas Child has begun! Please take a starter box from the display table (each box has a few things inside to “get you started”), fill it with fun and return it by November 11th. Each child who receives a shoebox can participate in the follow-up discipleship program, which teaches them how to faithfully follow…
Our Savior’s Youth+ group will meet this Sunday, September 23, 3 p.m. in the Youth Room for a servant event. Mankato REACH serves literally 100’s of area youth who are at-risk of or are experiencing homelessness for many different reasons. They “couch surf” to homes of family and friends, but are lacking a true home of…
New to the Christian faith, or just want to brush up on the basics? Adult Confirmation Instruction, taught by Pastor Lauer, will take place on Wednesdays from 7 – 8 pm, and will finish up before Christmas. This class is for anyone who look like to learn, or review, the basic teaching of the Christian…
Sometimes it just feels good to start fresh. Through forgiveness God gives us a clean slate. We can breathe a sigh of relief and step forward into a new day and a new year. Join us this Sunday as children’s Sunday School classes get back in full swing. Families are invited to start in the Sanctuary…
Beginning Wednesday, September 12, from 5:15-6:15pm Lisa Brand will be leading a study on the book “Caring Criticism: Building Bridges Instead of Walls”. This book discusses the following topics: 1) Why Criticism Doesn’t Work; 2) Why Do We Criticize; 3) If Criticism Doesn’t Work, What Does?; 4) How to Correct Others Without Hurting Them; 5) When…
Looking to get away? Our annual fall backpacking trip is scheduled for September 14-16 (leaving early on Friday and returning Sunday). We will be hiking a portion of the beautiful Superior Hiking Trail that runs from Duluth to Canada along Lake Superior. Some camping experience is helpful, but no specific backpacking experience necessary. Don’t worry…
Can you believe it is less than four weeks until school starts up again? That means it is time to start thinking about getting the music groups back together! This fall there are a variety of opportunities for you to get involved in praising our God through music. Kids Ring – Handbells for 3rd grade…
We had a great time at VBS this past week! Thank you to all of the kids who attended, the volunteers who dedicated many hours to helping, and church staff for planning and coordinating the week. The kids will be singing several songs they learned over the course of the week at the beginning of…
Vacation Bible School is in a little less than a month! At Splash Canyon, your children learn God keeps His promises on life’s wild ride! They’ll learn five Bible accounts where our faithful God keeps His promises to be with us and gives us life and hope through Jesus, our Savior. Join us for a…
Pastor Matheny will be leading a new Bible study during education hour beginning July 15th on Luther’s Large Catechism. Remember the Small Catechism you used during confirmation? The Large Catechism is its big brother, and is even better! Join Pastor at 9:15 am in the sanctuary to learn more. For those who attended the study…
Looking for an opportunity to get into God’s Word? Early Bird Bible Study is beginning a new study on July 30th, and everyone is invited. This study is called “God in the Real World”, and it connects our lives to the reality of what God did on earth. Each lesson includes video segments shot in…
Have you ever been interested, or are now playing handbells? Do you need a refresher or would like to continue with learning some of the basics of music? This summer on Wednesday evenings at 5:15pm there will be class that will include topics like counting, time signatures, key signatures and handbell techniques. Anyone from 3rd…
Just look at all these opportunities to meet with your brothers and sisters in Christ and talk about the Bible, share experiences, and strengthen your faith! You are welcome to drop into any of them – if you have questions, please contact the group leader. No excuses not to get into the Word!
Just because it is summer does not mean we stop taking time in God’s Word! We invite kids to join us in the fellowship hall from 9:15 to 10:15 Sunday mornings (starting June 10th) for H2Oh! – a special series that reminds us of how God keeps his promises. The youth are invited to join…
Our annual spring backpacking trip was last weekend. It was a great few days of hiking and enjoying nature and each other’s company. You never know what kind of weather you will get along Lake Superior — this year we had a wide variety including chilly temps, warm sun, and even a bit of freezing…
We invite you to join us for a new series during Sunday morning Bible study time from 9:15-10:15. Pastor Matheny and Matt Brand will be doing a series on their recent travels to Israel. This week will include an overview of the geography and geology of the area, and how God used this particular place.…
Today was our last day in Israel, and we are writing you from the Istanbul Airport as we wait to board our flight from Turkey to New York. We began this morning on the Mount of Olives. We started out at Bethpage where we had a clear view not only of Jerusalem, but also the town of Bethany where Jesus stayed when…
Today was all about Jerusalem. The majority of our day was spent in the Temple Mount area, the most contentious 35 acres in the world. We arrived early to get through security before lines got too long, and spent several hours exploring the Temple Mount area and discussing the Biblical relevance of different areas. It is somewhat difficult to fully envision what…
Greetings from Israel! Today was both the end of our time in Galilee and the beginning of our time in Jerusalem. As our last stop in Galilee we saw a city called Scythopilis. This city, though not mentioned by name in the New Testament would certainly have been known to Jesus. Scythopilis was the largest city in the region known as the…
Greetings from Israel! Our home base for the past few days has been at a Kibbutz on the south side of the Sea of Galilee, and we have been focusing on the area around the sea. Today, however, we journeyed further north into the area of Israel that lies between Lebanon on the west and Syria on the east. Our first stop…
Greetings from Israel! Today we spent the majority of our day in what is called the “Evangelical Triangle”. This is the small (and we do mean small!) area in Galilee where Jesus spent the vast majority of His ministry. The triangle is formed by drawing connecting lines between the towns of Bethsaida, Chorazin, and Magdala. We began our day at the small…
Greetings from Israel! Our day today focused on getting our bearings in the region around the Sea of Galilee. Our initial thought, coming from the land of 10,000 lakes, was that the Sea of Galilee should really be called Galilee Lake – it is not as big as we thought it would be. However, it is central to the story of the…
Greetings from Israel! Today (just like every other day) has been a whirlwind tour of numerous Biblical stories. We stayed last night in Haifa, a port city on the Mediterranean Sea with settlement dating back many thousands of years. We began this morning by driving up to a lookout on the peak of Mount Carmel. You will probably remember Mt. Carmel as…
Greetings from Israel! We have reached the southern end of our journey through the wilderness and turned back to the north. Yesterday we spent some time at the east end of the Biblical Negev, and this morning we visited a larger Biblical settlement in the western Negev, Beer Sheba. The site is a Tel – a site upon which numerous cities, settlements,…
Greetings from Israel! Today we spent the day exploring the wilderness south of Jerusalem called the Biblical Negev. This region is in the southern part of Judea. It is formed by a large east-West valley the runs through the more mountainous regions of wilderness that surround it. This area stands out because, due to its…
Greetings from Israel! As we mentioned in the first report, the region of Judah has five district climatological regions. We spent the first day in the Shephelah region, the next two days in the hill country, and today in the wilderness region east of Jerusalem. This region is very different – actually classified as a…
Greetings from Israel! Today we again began our day in the classroom. We continued our class focused on teaching techniques, especially the effective use of questions in teaching God’s Word. Pastor Zelt (the professor for our course and group leader) is a talented teacher and is doing his utmost to impart his wisdom to us.…
We began the morning with several hours of classroom time reviewing the areas we visited yesterday and beginning to learn about teaching methods. This morning focused on using questions as part of the teaching process, specifically centered on using events and interactions in Scripture and the Holy Land as a foundation for these questions. About…
Greetings from Israel! We have been caught up in a whirlwind the last two- or was it three- days. We departed from JFK international airport on Tuesday at 7p.m. for a roughly 10 hour flight to Istanbul, Turkey. Once there we went through Israeli security for a transfer flight from Istanbul to Tel Aviv, Israel.…
We invite you to join us for worship during the upcoming Holy Week. Worship times are as follows: Palm Sunday, March 25th: 8am & 10:30am Maundy Thursday, March 29th: 1:30pm & 6:30pm Good Friday, March 30th: 1:30pm & 6:30pm Easter Vigil, Saturday, March 31st: 8pm Easter Sunday, April 1st: Sunrise Service at 6am Easter celebration at 8am & 10:30am…
Our sister congregation that we helped plant in St. Peter, River of Life, is dedicating their new sanctuary this Sunday. They invite everyone to join them for this celebration service this Sunday, March 11, at 10am!
Digging into God’s Word is an important part of our spiritual growth. Our Saviors offers numerous opportunities for Bible study throughout the week, including Sunday morning between services from 9:15 to 10:15. Pastor Matheny is currently leading a study for the youth which meets in the youth room, and Pastor Lauer is leading a study…
We invite you to join us for Lenten worship services at 1:30 pm and 6:30 pm each Wednesday in Lent. A meal is served beginning at 5:15 pm so you can skip having to prepare supper!
The Youth group will be participating in the annual Night In The Dome Kickball tournament at Concordia University St. Paul. This tournament will take place (indoors!) on Friday, March 16th from 6-10p.m. For full details about this event check out their website here. However, for this event we will need to register our team by…
Our Savior’s youth group has volunteered to help Partners for Affordable Housing (a Mankato based charity serving homeless people) set up for “Pedal Past Poverty”, one of their fundraising events. We will meet up at the YMCA at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 23rd to help them out. We will work there until 6:30, and…
The weekly book club meets Sundays at 4:30 pm. We are currently reading and discussing Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird. We invite everyone to attend!
The 7th Annual Chili Cook-off is this Sunday, January 21st, right after the annual Voters’ Meeting (about 12:30pm). Make your way to the Fireplace room to test and cast your vote for your favorite chili in the mild, hot, and non-traditional categories. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Ice Cream Sundaes will also be served. If you…
Youth in grades 7 – 12 are invited to join us for ice skating this Sunday, January 14th, from 2 – 3:30pm. We will meet at All Seasons Arena. Admission is $3 and skate rental is $2. See you there!
We invite you to worship with us this New Year’s weekend. We will have regular Saturday evening and Sunday morning worship services, but there will not be Sunday School for children between services. Then we will gather at 6:30 pm for our New Year’s Eve worship service. Come get the new year off on the…
We invite you to join us this weekend to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Services are at the following times: Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24th: Service of Christmas Lessons and Carols 5 & 7 p.m. (with preservice music about 30 minutes before services) Christmas Candlelight Service with Holy Communion 10 p.m. Traditional Christmas Day Worship…
Thanks to everyone who participated in Christmas Caroling this past Sunday. It was a fun time, and very much appreciated by those who were visited!
“I bring good new to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people.” (Luke 2:10) The kids did a great job telling the good news of Jesus’ birth last Saturday at their annual recital and Christmas program. Here is a video of both the recital and program, with the program beginning at about minute 16. Please share…
Our children have “Good News to Tell” at this year’s Children’s Christmas Service. They will share how Jesus came from heaven above to earth in love. The service is at 4:30pm on Saturday, December 16. A preservice music recital by OSLC kids will begin around 4pm, and refreshments will be serve afterward. Hope you can…
During Advent we remember that God promised to rescue his people from death and we also anticipate that Jesus is coming again. Please join us for Advent Worship on Wednesdays at 1:30 pm and 6:30 pm. An informal coffee/fellowship hour follows the afternoon service and supper is served from 5:15 to 6:15 pm before the evening service.
Our children have “Good News to Tell” at this year’s Children’s Christmas Service. They will share how Jesus came from heaven above to earth in love. The service is at 4:30pm on Saturday, December 16. Practice begins tomorrow from 10-11:30am for kids in grades 1-5. Hope you can join us!
We will be decorating the church for Advent and Christmas on Sunday immediately following the 10:30 service. All ages are welcome and all help will be greatly appreciated. Lunch will be served. This is always a fun time of fellowship while getting into the Christmas spirit!
Thank you to all who participated in donating, packing, providing the pizza lunch, and especially for praying for these boxes and the children who will receive them!
This Sunday is the Operation Christmas Child Packing and Pizza Party! Come be a missionary for a day and join the fun! We’ll start with a pizza lunch and Christmas cookies following the 10:30 service. Then the packing will begin. We’ll conclude with a parting prayer for the boxes, that God would bless the children…
