*Friday of Reminiscere*
Dear Saints and Friends of Grace & Trinity,
This Sunday is
*Oculi** – the 3rd Sunday in Lent*
*T** The Sunday of the Dumb Demoniac** T*
Exodus 8:16-24; Ephesians 5:1-9; Luke 11:14-28 <www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+8%3A16-24%3B+Ephesians+5%3A1-9%3B+Luke+11%3A14-28&version=ESV>
*Jesus Overcomes the Strong Man*
*Jeremiah was charged with speaking evil when he spoke the Word of the Lord (Jer. 26:1–15). So also, Jesus is accused of doing evil when in fact He is doing good. He casts out a demon from a mute man so that he is able to speak (Luke 11:14–28). But some said Jesus did this by the power of Beelzebub, Satan. Like Pharaoh of old, their hearts were hard (Ex. 8:16–24). They did not recognize the finger of God, the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through Jesus. Jesus is the Stronger Man who overcomes the strong man. He takes the devil’s armor of sin and death and destroys it from the inside out by the holy cross. He exorcizes and frees us by water and the Word. We were once darkness, but now we are light in Christ the Lord (Eph. 5:1–9). As children of light, our tongues are loosed to give thanks to Him who saved us.*
*Bible Study this Week* is at Trinity. We’ll discuss the sixth Godly habit of piety: Confessing Christ*.* Join us at 9:30am at Trinity.
*Those Serving* *at Grace & Trinity today…*
*Trinity** Grace*
*Counters: The Lewallens Counters: Jeanette*
*Greeters: Minda Shultz Greeters: The Petersens*
*Ushers: Dave Ketteman & Ushers: Cory & Terry*
* Dave Norris Altar Guild: The Nickels*
*Altar Guild: The Wortzes *
*Elder: Keith Buhr*
*To prepare* your hearts and minds for the Sunday gathering of the faithful, here is the bulletin for Sunday <mcusercontent.com/a90ee03ff0810e6c55bae6a58/files/f8a9358b-511d-b297-abe2-b347ed92645a/2022_03_20_The_Third_Sunday_in_Lent_Oculi_DS.pdf>. Meditate on the readings, pray the prayers, and consider what gifts our Lord has for us this week. Also, here are the news/notes <mcusercontent.com/a90ee03ff0810e6c55bae6a58/files/9eba0924-2c9e-4ec1-21e7-e6d8beafe8ef/3_20_22_News_Notes.pdf> and the congregation at prayer <mcusercontent.com/a90ee03ff0810e6c55bae6a58/files/21c5ee42-6191-1bd7-c08b-e9ee19633582/2022_3_20_Third_Sunday_in_Lent.pdf> .
*Prayer Requests…*
· For Melissa Cohlmia, Mary Hubbard’s cousin, who will drive to the Cleveland Clinic later this month for tests and evaluations before heart surgery on March 25.
· For Rev. Dean Christ, undergoing a biopsy on his kidney today.
· For Alice Keist, a former member at Trinity, who fell yesterday and now is in the heart hospital in Mesa, AZ.
· For Irma Quade, who fell yesterday and broke her hip. She should be undergoing surgery today.
*Coming up this week…*
· *Today: *
o *9am *Matins, Grace
o *4-5pm *Private Absolution, Trinity
o *6pm *EDI St. Patrick’s Feast Lecture, the Ladder
· *Saturday: **Festival of St. Joseph*
o *9:30am *LWML Mtg.
o *1pm *EDI St. Patrick’s Feast Lecture, the Ladder
o *3pm *EDI St. Patrick’s Feast Whiskey Tasting, the Ladder
o *6pm *EDI St. Patrick’s Feast Dinner, Bagpipes, and Music
· *Sunday (3/20): **Oculi*
o *8am *Divine Service, Grace
o *9:30am *Bible Study, Trinity
o *11am *Divine Service, Trinity
o *2pm **Misa en Español*, Grace
o *7pm *Society of St. Polycarp (SSP) Retreat Evening Prayer, Immanuel
o *10:45pm *SSP Retreat Compline, Immanuel
· *Monday: *
o *7:30am *Matins, Immanuel (SSP Retreat)
o *11am *SSP Retreat Holy Mass, Immanuel
o *3pm *SSP Retreat Vespers, Immanuel
o *7pm* SSP Retreat Evening Prayer, Immanuel
o *10:45 pm* SSP Retreat Compline, Immanuel
· *Tuesday: *
o *7:30am *Matins, Immanuel (SSP Retreat)
o *11am *SSP Retreat Holy Mass, Immanuel
o *3pm *SSP Retreat Vespers, Immanuel
o *7pm* SSP Retreat Evening Prayer, Immanuel
o *10:45 pm* SSP Retreat Compline, Immanuel
· *Wednesday*:
o *9am *Matins, Grace
o *9:30am *Bible Study, Grace
o *11am *Divine Service, Grace
o *5pm *Bell Choir, Trinity
o *5:30pm *Lenten Meal, Trinity
o *6-6:45pm *Private Absolution, Trinity
o *7pm *Lenten Vespers (the Lord’s Prayer), Trinity
· *Thursday*:
o *9am *Matins, Grace
o *7:30pm *Hall of Men, the Ladder * *I’m presenting Nikolaus von Amsdorf*
· *Friday: **Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lord*
o *9am *Matins, Grace
o *4-5pm *Private Absolution, Trinity
o *7pm *Festal Divine Service, Trinity
· *Sunday (3/27): **Laetare*
o *8am *Divine Service, Grace
o *9:30am *Bible Study, Trinity
o *11am *Divine Service, Trinity
o *2pm **Misa en Español*, Grace
o *3:30pm *Elders’ Book Study, Grace
*Looking Ahead…*
· *March 18-19*: *EDI Saint Patrick Feast – *The 14th Annual St. Pat’s Feast <eighthdayinstitute.salsalabs.org/2022feastofstpatrick/index.html> will include additional lectures and a calligraphy workshop with Rev. Dr. Gabriel Rochelle! Sign up now!
· *March 20-22: Society of St. Polycarp Retreat* – Every third Sunday of Lent (Oculi) the KS Chapter of the SSP meets for a retreat at Immanuel for study, prayer, silent reflection, and fellowship. While the retreat is for members of the society, it is open to anyone interested to participate, especially during the worship services. Here’s the full schedule <mcusercontent.com/a90ee03ff0810e6c55bae6a58/files/ad028880-f744-8c52-89f7-9a3f0dcc407e/2022_SSP_KS_Chapter_Retreat_Schedule.pdf>. Our study this year will focus on the Magdeburg Confession. Resources for our discussion can be found here <magdeburgconfession.com/mag/> and here
· *March 29*: OMT: Theological Reading Group – We’ll be reading and discussing Anselm of Canterbury’s famous work, *Why God Became Man*. You can grab a copy at Eighth Day Books. We meet at Grace; Matins starts at 9am, discussion follows, then lunch. Join us!
· *April 30*: Lutheran Lecture Series XXVI – We’re thrilled to have the Rev. Dr. Andrew Das joining us for our 27th annual Lutheran Lecture Series here at Grace. More details to follow, but please save the date and mark your calendar.
*Other Things…*
· *Concordia Academy-Wichita Open Enrollment: *please spread the word about our open enrollment and LARGE tuition grants at Concordia Academy. You can find the enrollment application here <www.concordiaacademywichita.org/uploads/1/3/1/6/131611242/application_form.pdf> .
· *The Decision Regarding the Call to the Seminary* will be announced on Sunday. Please continue to keep our family and these congregations and the Church at large in your prayers.
Many blessings and much joy to you all in Christ our life.
-Pastor