Trinity & Redeemer Lutheran Church newsletter "The Chimes"

2004 Council Menbers

Trinty, Creston
President - Chuck Bowman
Vice-President - Kevin Kruse
Secretary - Becky Hagen
Treasurer - Mike Lang
Financial Sec. - Lynn Kruse
Head Elder - Bill Magers
Board of Ed. - Karl Peterson
Preschool Board Chairman - Linda Schroeder
Head Trustee - Troy Peterson
Board of Stewardship - Randy Roghair
Missions Chairman - Steve Bradley
Worship/Altar Comm. - Janette Lang

Redeemer, Corning
President - Darrell Amtzen
Vice-President - Howard Anderson
Secretary - Linda Eberly
Treasurer - Verlyne Westphal
Head Elder - Doug James
Board of Ed. Chairman - Karen Wells
Building Comm. Chairman - Fiath Grebner
Head Trustee - Mike Wells
Board of Stewardship - Deanna Anderson
Evangelism - Karen Wells
Financial Secretary - Karla Geyer

A REASON TO PRAISE THE LORD

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. (Psalm 95:1-7)

The praise Psalms command us to worship the Lord, Certainly worship is our obligation. We owe our very lives and our eternal salvation to Him, and for this reason we are under obligation to worship and praise Him. Hence the third commandment requires us to gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ for worship.

But there is an even better reason to worship the Lord. The praise psalms not only command us to worship the Lord, but they always give us a reason for doing so, as does this particular psalm. Why should we worship the Lord? First of all, because He "is the great God, the great King above all gods." We praise Him for His greatness and for the wonder and splendor of His creation. And who is this great God who is King above all gods? The Lord. This is His personal name, His covenant name, the name that reminds us that we belong to Him, that He has purchased us back from sin, death, and hell at great cost, at the cost of His own Son, the name that He has given us to use in calling upon Him.

Not only is He the great God above all gods, but He is our God. He is "the Lord our Maker...He is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under His care." Here we have images of the 23^rd Psalm and of Jesus the Good Shepherd, images of the Good Shepherd leading His flock to the best pasture land and to the clear waters of His Word and Sacraments, of Him bandaging our wounds, of Him defending us from the dangers of the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature.

We worship the Lord not only because He commands us to, but even more importantly, because we love Him for all that He has done for us.

See you in church next Sunday.

Pastor Rubke

2004 Council Menbers Trinty, Creston President - Chuck Bowman Vice-President - Kevin Kruse Secretary - Becky Hagen Treasurer - Mike Lang Financial Sec. - Lynn Kruse Head Elder - Bill Magers Board of Ed. - Karl Peterson Preschool Board Chairman - Linda Schroeder Head Trustee - Troy Peterson Board of Stewardship - Randy Roghair Missions Chairman - Steve Bradley Worship/Altar Comm. - Janette Lang Redeemer, Corning President - Darrell Amtzen Vice-President - Howard Anderson Secretary - Linda Eberly Treasurer - Verlyne Westphal Head Elder - Doug James Board of Ed. Chairman - Karen Wells Building Comm. Chairman - Fiath Grebner Head Trustee - Mike Wells Board of Stewardship - Deanna Anderson Evangelism - Karen Wells Financial Secretary - Karla Geyer		A REASON TO PRAISE THE LORD Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. (Psalm 95:1-7) The praise Psalms command us to worship the Lord, Certainly worship is our obligation. We owe our very lives and our eternal salvation to Him, and for this reason we are under obligation to worship and praise Him. Hence the third commandment requires us to gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ for worship. But there is an even better reason to worship the Lord. The praise psalms not only command us to worship the Lord, but they always give us a reason for doing so, as does this particular psalm. Why should we worship the Lord? First of all, because He "is the great God, the great King above all gods." We praise Him for His greatness and for the wonder and splendor of His creation. And who is this great God who is King above all gods? The Lord. This is His personal name, His covenant name, the name that reminds us that we belong to Him, that He has purchased us back from sin, death, and hell at great cost, at the cost of His own Son, the name that He has given us to use in calling upon Him. Not only is He the great God above all gods, but He is our God. He is "the Lord our Maker...He is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under His care." Here we have images of the 23^rd Psalm and of Jesus the Good Shepherd, images of the Good Shepherd leading His flock to the best pasture land and to the clear waters of His Word and Sacraments, of Him bandaging our wounds, of Him defending us from the dangers of the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature. We worship the Lord not only because He commands us to, but even more importantly, because we love Him for all that He has done for us. See you in church next Sunday. Pastor Rubke