Yesterday was a glorious celebration of JOY on this third Sunday of Advent. The setting of the chancel area in Immanuel’s sanctuary is just beautiful with all the poinsettias. Thank you to all who donated toward the purchase of these poinsettias in memory of loved ones and to the glory of God. And thank you to Cindy Eversole for purchasing, delivering (with help from her dad!), and arranging them to beautify our worship space throughout the rest of this Advent season and throughout this coming Christmastide! JOY!

The Christmas cantata, The Gift, was a beautiful expression of the Christmas message from God’s Word and in song. Thank you to Kathy Schlecht for her leadership and directing, and to the Christmas choir and readers. Wow! JOY! 

The children did a wonderful job with their Christmas program, Sounding Joy. Way to go Miss Emma, Kathy, Elizabeth Grimm, and Sandy Meske for leadership and support of the children and their sharing the Christmas story! And way to go, kids – that is, all of you sheep and cows, angels and shepherds, Mary and Joseph! JOY!

We had a baptism at the 10:30 service and we welcomed little Delaney Chandler Reed into God’s family through the waters of baptism. Congratulations to Tanner and Sara and we pray God’s blessings on this young family and the partnership in the Gospel that we share. What JOY as the Kingdom of God expands!

I pray that the JOY of the Lord is our strength, as we journey together through this glorious season of the year. Let this gift of JOY fill your heart, sustain us through the challenges that will come our way, and point us to the source of this and all good things – Jesus our Savior and King!

Serving together – with JOY! – in Christ alone!

Pastor Glen

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve had so many amazing things to celebrate and be thankful for. At the top of the list are baptisms that we celebrated last Sunday, December 7^th, as Nina (age 15) and Sylvia (age 9) Gates received God’s gift of baptism. As St. Paul wrote in Titus 3:4-7, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Nina shared a neat story of her basketball coach and the influence that Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) has had on her with her involvement at Loveland High School. Praise God for His work in the hearts of lives of these young girls and this family!

On Sunday we also received lots of new members who finished up my most recent Immanuel 101 class. In the first picture from the 8:00 Classic Grace service, we have (from left to right): Dick and Linda Wiglesworth, Jamie Penny, Pam and Scott Moody, and Jay Crouse and Jenelle Kemper.

And at the 10:30 Contemporary Joy service we welcomed (from left to right): Victoria Mendoza, Patrick Reynolds, Judson Knowles, Kurt and Kathy Holdorf, Marissa and Brian McFadden, and Josh Hubble. We had a couple of people who were not able to be at the services on Sunday that we are welcoming into membership and they are Eunice Chambers and Gordon Krueger.

In addition to baptisms and new members, we are also celebrating and so thankful for all who have helped with the huge task of decorating the church for the Advent and Christmas seasons. We captured pictures of some of our helpers and the amazing job they did. Those include Donna Aigner and Barbara Tuttle who hung the garland with bows and decorated the tree near the gym entrance; Bob Kamtz and Jeff Deaner who initially put together the large Christmas tree in the west atrium and also hung the beautiful wooden nativity on the west wall of the atrium; Jake Hollen who put the finishing touches on that west atrium Christmas tree, making sure all the lights were working, and who also replaced many of the lights in the sanctuary; and Miranda and Luke Grossaint, pictured as they put up and decorated the large Christmas tree in the sanctuary. Miranda also decorated both trees in the breezeway of Immanuel’s main entrance. Not pictured is Cindy Eversole who did an amazing job decorating “the dent,” which is the open spot in the center of the atrium which includes Christmas trees, a large nativity, and other beautiful decorations. Cindy also selected, transported, and arranged the many beautiful poinsettias that have been donated (with help from her Dad in getting the many poinsettias to Immanuel). Thank you to all of you for the GREAT job you did in making our atrium and sanctuary look so beautiful for this season!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

In worship yesterday we talked about how there’s no place like home! The Lord’s invitation to us through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 55 is absolutely astounding – “Come, all you who are thirsty… you who have no money, come, buy and eat!” God’s grace could not be more clear in these prophecies from our Lord. The table to which we’ve been invited, our seat at the feast prepared for us and for all who believe in the Promised King, comes at no cost for us – but the price has been paid in full by King Jesus on that cross on Calvary. And by grace through faith in Jesus, our seat at the table will always be ours. Praise God!

One aspect of Isaiah 55 that I didn’t have time to share in yesterday’s message, but is important enough that I want to speak briefly to it here today, is that, as with all good things, it’s better when it’s shared. While our King invites us to His table, He gives us the privilege and responsibility of passing along His invitation to others.

Let me go back to our imagery of our favorite Christmas foods from yesterday’s sermon. When you taste something divine, our instinct is to turn to the person next to us and say, “Have you tried this? Here, have some!” A great feast begs to be shared with others who are hungry for the satisfying tastes and smells of home. In Isaiah 55:4-5, the Lord is stating the mission we’ve been given – to be a witness to the people in our lives. And the promise the Lord gives is, as we share His love with others, others will come home, will come to the feast the Lord has prepared for all who come to believe in Him.

You see, the feast and all its promises were never intended for just a select few. It’s for the world! This feast, which is free, satisfying, and filled with God’s promise of love, is something we get to share with others. Who in your life seems hungry? Who in your circle of family and friends, co-workers and acquaintances, are hurting, searching, wrestling, or wandering? Are you open to the idea that perhaps part of why Jesus has brought you to His feast is so that through you, He might feed them?

What difference might it make for someone to find a seat at your table? To step into your home and feel God’s love flowing from you to them? What impact might a simple invitation to an Advent or Christmas worship service have on one starving for grace? A satisfying feast begs to be shared! So let’s share it!

We have postcards available that lists all the various Christmas programs and services that are upcoming at Immanuel. These were given out on Sunday and we have more here at the church! Grab one or several and then share an invitation for those you know to come and join you in worship, here at our home at Immanuel. Coming Home for Christmas is what this is all about, isn’t it? And we know that we find our home, our True Home, in Jesus!

Serving together in Christ alone!

Pastor Glen

With our first measurable snowfall of the year providing a beautiful blanket of snow yesterday, I thought it appropriate to provide a wrap-up to this year’s Christmas Bazaar that took place on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, November 22^nd. It was quite a day! We had a record number of people attend this year – 1725 was the count. As I was near the front door, I had the opportunity for many, many great conversations throughout the day about Immanuel, faith, church, various ministries, baptism, and our school – it was a wonderful day for me! Prayers that seeds were planted through conversations that were had, impressions that were made, and the hospitality we were able to show.

I want to express a huge thank you to our two leaders of this major ministry event: Cindy Eversole coordinated and communicated with all the vendors over the course of many, many months, and Kathy Schlecht oversaw the volunteers and logistics for the bazaar itself. Thank you, ladies!
 

But to make this happen, it took well over 100 volunteers helping and serving and providing in so many ways. Thank you to all who supported and prayed for this event! Thank you for the donation and prep of the pulled pork for lunch from the Frerichs and the donation of chili from Runza to support the youth, for the tons of Holiday Café support (SO much help!), bringing in pies for the lunch, tarpers and tapers, greeting our vendors on Friday and our guests Saturday, parking lot attendants, for Jim Ramsey and Bob Kamtz carting people to and from cars all day in golf carts, musical entertainment, set-up and hosting Pictures With Santa by the Gonzales and Siecgrist families (and both of our awesome Santas – Scott Gilbert and Ron Heusinkveld!), helping kiddos make Christmas crafts in Santa’s workshop, making cookies and assembling and selling cookies trays, for the greeters, and for the clean-up crew. It really does take an army to pull off this event. Our volunteers heard comments from numerous vendors that they have never been treated this well at any other event… Radical Hospitality at its best!

I’m thankful for all who make up this amazing community of faith here at Immanuel. We are mission-driven, Christ-centered, and all about sharing Jesus and His love, and furthering God’s Kingdom. Praise God for the opportunities we have – in abundance! – to serve our Lord together!

Make sure and scroll down to the very end of this email update for a few more pictures from the bazaar, including some of the prep work and some action shots during the bazaar.

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Enjoy some fun pictures from this year’s Annual Christmas Bazaar!

Friends of Immanuel,
There’s no doubt that your inbox is filled this morning, like mine, with #GivingTuesday emails. I’m sending this your way to invite you to consider the reason behind any giving that you might do today, whether that is to Immanuel or to other ministries, non-profits, or causes near-and-dear to your heart.

As you hear me say each week about the offering during worship, those are weekly opportunities for us to pause, remember, be thankful, and return thanks to the One we know is the Giver of all blessings. So today my simple encouragement is to do just that:

• Pause – simply stop moving for even 60 seconds, which is not easy in our culture today or with the lives we lead or the crazy expectations that we feel on our shoulders.
• Remember – think about some of your blessings. Consider the people in your life – family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors. Take a quick jog into the past and recall some of what’s happened in your life for which you are thankful.
• Be Thankful – literally take a look around, wherever you may be at this moment. Take in some of the big things, the little things, the many things we tend to take for granted, and just notice what’s around you. And say thank you – to people who may be part of these things and also to your Lord.
• Return Thanks – do something tangible, give a monetary gift, offer a compliment or encouragement to someone for what they mean to you, for what they’ve done for you, or for what they do.

If you are considering an additional financial gift to the Lord through Immanuel’s ministries, perhaps you’ve been thinking about a year-end gift, you are welcome to make that today, or in the weeks to come! If you choose to give a gift over-and-above your regular tithes and offerings to Immanuel, I would encourage you, given our current financial challenges, to give toward the General Fund, which would be most helpful for our ministry as a whole.

How can I give?

1. Go to our website (www.ImmanuelLoveland.org) and hit the red “Give” button in the top right corner and follow the directions. If you want to give toward a ministry beyond the General Fund, you are welcome to look at the drop-down menu and select a particular ministry. If there is something you would like give toward that is not listed on the drop-down menus, give your gift and then send an email to ChurchOffice@ImmanuelLoveland.org to let us know the designation.
2. Text ILCGIVE to 77977 and then follow the provided link.
3. You can drop off a gift at Immanuel with either check or cash (we’re open from 8:00am-5:00pm Monday-Thursday, closed at 4:00pm on Fridays).

Thank you for taking time to remember the blessings in our lives AND where those blessings come from! It’s a true joy to serve our Savior together with all of you!

Our Savior’s richest blessings to you!

Friends of Immanuel,

Happy December! Happy New Year! Happy Advent! As I mentioned yesterday, we certainly have officially begun the craziest time of year. I love our new Advent worship series, Coming Home for Christmas: Advent in Isaiah, with the various themes of what I believe is a pretty common desire, and that is, to be home!

We will not have any Bring It Home devotions for the next four weeks as we are using the devotional materials from 1517 that tie into this Advent series. We have paper copies of the daily devotions that began yesterday and will take us through Christmas Day, and those who normally receive Bring It Home devotions by email will receive these daily devotions in your inbox. If you don’t have your devotions, you can stop over at Immanuel during business hours and pick your copy up or let the church office know you would like to receive them via email (churchoffice@immanuelloveland.org).

With not having Bring It Home devotions, I’m also not utilizing any What Now? encouragement at the end of my sermon for these four weeks either. What I will do, however, will be to offer some thoughts in my Monday email update article for you to think about and put into practice in your life.

Home is where we want to be, isn’t it? Even though it may not be perfect, it can at least represent and remind us of a place where we are fully known, fully forgiven, and a place where we can find peace and rest. And the beauty of home is that for us as followers of Jesus, we know that our home is in Jesus. It’s in Him, the One who left His home and joined us in our exile, our homelessness, and our discomforts and struggles, all in order to free us from our sin and lead us out of exile and to forge a path home.

There’s no getting around the craziness of this time of year. That’s life and it’s just the way it is. But maybe there’s a way to redeem it. And here’s what I invite you to consider in the weeks ahead.

• Let all this busyness and craziness and running around remind us that we are far from home;
• Let that ache for home and all that “home” means to us, remind us of the One who left His home out of the amazing love He has for you and me;
• Remember that in Jesus, our true home isn’t far off – in fact, we can experience home even now in Him in so many different ways, catching glimpses and experiences of what home is and what home will be.

So in the coming weeks, let Jesus bring His rest, His peace, and His hope into our hearts and homes through His Word, our worship times together, His love, and His presence here with us.

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,
Every year at Thanksgiving, I have some fun sharing a few of the many, many things for which I’m thankful. Below is a collage of pictures that expresses my gratitude. A thank you/shout-out to my daughter-in-law Leah for her help in putting all these pictures together into the collage for me! “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” (Ephesians 1:16)

A blessed and gratitude-filled Thanksgiving to you all!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel, 

Yesterday we wrapped up our fall series, Radical Discipleship, with our observation of Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the Church Year. Here is the What Now? for this week to help you keep thinking and talking about what it means that Jesus is King in your life! 

What Now?
Heading into Thanksgiving, take time to reflect this week on the gratitude you feel for what it means to know Jesus is your King. 

Next Sunday we begin the season of Advent, a season of preparation, of watching, and of waiting, which leads us into our Christmas celebrations. We also begin a new worship series for Advent, Coming Home for Christmas: Advent in Isaiah. Let me share a bit of background and what this short series will include. 

Pastor Matt Popovits, the creator of this Advent series, explains, “What becomes plain [through the book of Isaiah] is this: when Jesus comes, he brings with him a Kingdom. A reign. A Home and haven under God’s care that is very, very good.” For this series, we’ll focus on five passages in Isaiah where the promises of God – fulfilled in either Jesus’ arrival or His second coming – proclaim to us that while we long to find peace, belonging, and comfort this time of year, our ultimate Christmas gift is our citizenship in His Kingdom. For Jesus is the Home who has come to win us back from exile, keep us safe in His embrace, and promises that we will someday reside with Him forever. 

Throughout December, we’ll use the following weekly themes: “Far From Home,” “No Place Like Home,” “A Home Unbroken,” “A Light that Leads Us Home,” and “Home at Last.” 

For those who may be interested, here is a little more background of the time Isaiah lived and prophesied, all of which lays some helpful groundwork on where our Advent series will go. 

The book of Isaiah spans one of the most turbulent periods in Israel’s history. Isaiah prophesied during the 8th century B.C., a time when the once-unified kingdom of Israel had divided into the northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern kingdom (Judah). As Assyria’s power surged across the ancient Near East, the northern kingdom fell to its armies in 722 B.C. Meanwhile, Judah watched anxiously as the threat of foreign domination grew. Isaiah’s ministry in the capital of Judah (Jerusalem), spanned the reigns of several kings. He warned Judah about the consequences of their idolatry, injustice, and misplaced trust in political alliances rather than in the Lord. His early prophecies focus on coming judgment, yet they are also laced with hope most famously in the promise of Immanuel, “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14). The later chapters of Isaiah reflect a shift in tone and timeline, addressing a people either in exile or anticipating it. By then, Assyria had waned, and Babylon had risen to dominate the region, eventually conquering Jerusalem and carrying many Judeans into exile in 586 B.C. These later chapters speak with extraordinary hope about God’s power to redeem, restore, and bring His people home through this Immanuel, His one and only son, Jesus. 

It is Jesus, the incarnation of the living God, who Isaiah promised would come as a child born, a son given (Isaiah 9:7). Jesus, the holy seed (Isaiah 6:13) from the root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:10), who would go to the cross for our sake: “being despised and rejected” and “pierced for our transgressions; crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:3,5). In the midst of exile, Isaiah prophesied only one way home to our God: through the arrival of the God-man, Jesus. 

I’m looking forward to the journey with all of you through this wonderful season of Advent, as we think about and journey again and again back Home! 

Serving together in Christ alone! 

Pastor Glen 

Friends of Immanuel,
On behalf of our Executive Council and Finance Team, I want to provide an update on where things are at financially and with regard to the three studies that the Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) have done for us – School Study, Church Study, and Land-Use Study.

When we passed our deficit budget ($154,000) at our July 16^th Voting Assembly, we knew this fiscal year was going to be a challenge in many ways and we are up against those challenges right now. From last Tuesday’s Executive Council (EC) meeting, we are projecting to be at a $300,000 deficit by the end of our fiscal year (June 30^th). There have been three things which have contributed to this.

Unfortunately, we had several families with children enrolled in the school who had to withdraw their students in August due to varying life circumstances. We were anticipating and budgeting for 83 children in K-8 but right now we are at 70 children. A positive is that we anticipated and budgeted our preschool at 27 children but we have 33 currently enrolled! In addition, our offerings are coming in slightly below what we had budgeted and to extrapolate that to the end of the year if giving stays consistent, we will be about $50,000 under budget. The third factor was an unexpected leak that was discovered and we had to do mold mitigation right before the start of the school year.

The Finance Team and EC have grappled with this each month this fall. About two weeks ago, we received the Church Study from LCEF which offered several specific recommendations that the EC acted on in our last meeting. First, we will be strengthening our fiscal accountability with some changes to our Constitution and By-Laws. The Constitution and By-Law Review Team has been working for the past 8 months and is close to wrapping up their work. The recommendations from this team will be shared with all elected leadership in January or February. Once the leadership has had time to look at the proposed changes, these will be shared with the congregation and we will provide opportunities for everyone to give additional input to what is recommended. The specific proposed By-Law changes related to the Finance Team and the Treasurer will be shared at our upcoming Voting Assembly meeting as they relate directly to assuring fiscal accountability.

Second, LCEF holds Immanuel’s mortgage and we are going to engage the LCEF Loan Resolution Group who met with our leaders last May to present options for us to consider. The short of it is, we will restructure our mortgage on a very short-term basis (2 years) with a more manageable monthly payment to assist us in getting our feet back under us. In conjunction with this restructure, LCEF is recommending that we pull out the remainder of our Line of Credit ($288,000) to have available for immediate, monthly cash needs for the remainder of this fiscal year. The Line of Credit will be rolled into the restructuring of the loan. This will enable us to get through most of the year on a cash flow basis, based on current projections.

Third, LCEF strongly recommended that we need to conduct a 3-year Ministry Campaign to raise additional funds. The main components of this campaign will be to raise operating expenses of $200,000 for each of the three years. In addition, because of the age of our building, there are some major capital expenses on the horizon that we want to raise money for to have on-hand when they occur. Those include our insurance deductible for the roof (we continue to repair the roof as we can, but major issues are recognized – $150,000), a new sound system for the sanctuary (we have been experiencing some significant issues with the sound system over the last year and have had engineers come to look at our system and they have told us that much of what we have has for far outlasted its life expectancy – $125,000), and a new humidifier for the gym (the HVAC system as a whole is being cared for as best we can with preventative maintenance with an excellent company, but the humidifier’s motherboard is no longer being produced so once it goes down, there is nothing we can do but replace it – $25,000-$30,000).

Concurrently, we are exploring land-use options with nothing to share at this time, other than to assure you that any decisions made regarding our land will come before the congregation for discussion and a vote with ample time to look at proposals.

I share this with all of you to be transparent and so you know what’s coming. There will be much more information on all these matters as well as opportunities to provide input, ideas, and suggestions. At the end of this email, you’ll find the budget narrative, cash flow projections, and a summary of October and the year-to-date financial numbers. If you have any questions about these, you can contact our congregational president Shawn York (ECchair@ImmanuelLoveland.org) or our Director of Accounting and Finance Dawn Bowers (dbowers@ImmanuelLoveland.org).

As leaders and staff, we are continually evaluating and looking for ways to reduce costs and expenses on both the church and school side while still working toward our mission of sharing Jesus and His love. The next challenge for leadership is to start forging a strategic plan forward, focusing on not just our short-term but also our long-term future. We serve an abundant and loving God, and so we keep our eyes fixed on Him and the mission He’s given us. Thank you for being part of this amazing ministry!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

For our Radical Discipleship series yesterday, we talked about Resurrection, a key cornerstone of our faith as people of God. I do want to follow-up on one statement I made about death. From God’s Word, death is an enemy and not a friend. As I shared, death is a direct by-product of sin in our world (Romans 6:23). One response to my question of what emotions we experience around death was “relief,” which can sound very stark in contrast to death not being our friend.

Relief can be a very valid emotion with death, especially for us as followers of Christ. I have walked alongside a number of you for whom, when death of a loved one finally came, it truly was a relief. Your loved one, a believer, was no longer in pain, and it was a relief for them to be done with this fight against cancer or other illnesses, and to be able to fully embrace our Lord’s promise that in the new creation, when we are with Him, there will be no more mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:4; Isaiah 65:19). The promises of the resurrection are that we will be whole and well once again. I wanted to give assurance to everyone that while death is not our friend, it can come and bring relief because of what our Lord has promised.

For all who have experienced death over the past two years and more, who still grieve the absence of those loved ones or friends, I am praying again today that the good news and power of the resurrection bring comfort and hope as well as great anticipation for the reunion with all believers who have gone before us.

The radical nature of the resurrection is that it flies in the face of death. Resurrection has been part

of the plan all along, as we heard from the Old Testament reading in Job 19. I hope that conversations and discussion about resurrection life has, and will, continue in your homes and among your families and friends. Let the resurrection – Jesus’ resurrection and the promise of your resurrection – bring hope and encouragement to you today!

What Now?

Knowing and believing the promises, the assurance, the reality of our resurrection, how does that change the way you live today?

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen