| Several Shepherd of the Valley members participated in Everyone His Witness, a day-long workshop designed to teach participants how to care for others and to share their faith in Christ. Shepherding Our Strays will be held on November 2 to assist in caring for members whom we miss seeing in worship.
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Main Street Living Preachers
The following are preachers for On Mainstreet during the month of November.
Nov. 3-Rev Phillip Beyersdorf-St. Marks Lutheran-Minot
Nov.10-Rev. Tom Marcis-Zion Lutheran-Bismarck
Nov. 17-Vicar Chris Durham-Zion Lutheran-Bismarck
Nov.24-Rev. Don Fondow-President of the Minnesota North District-Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
“MAIN STREET LIVING” is a locally produced TV program that includes a 30 minute worship service led by participating pastors of the Minnesota North and North Dakota Districts of our LCMS, along with a 30 minute Lutheran Hour program (normally “This Is The Life”, along with occasional church-season specials). Programs are broadcast at 10:00am Central (9:00am Mountain) on KBMY Xtra Channel 17.3 or 594 Bismarck/Dickinson. MSLN programs are also archived and can be viewed at any time on www.mainstreetliving.com then click on “North (Fargo)”.
VOTERS MEETING SET
The quarterly voters meeting will take place on November 17 during the Education Hour. In addition to reports from leadership boards, voters will consider the 2020 proposed budget.
THANKSGIVING SERVICE
Thanksgiving service will take place on Wednesday, November 27, at 7:00 PM.
LUTHERAN CHURCH EXTENSION FUND ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Pastor Wolfgram has been invited to serve as one of three North Dakota District LC-MS Delegates at the annual conference for the LCEF in Houston, TX November 22-24. Vicar Durham from Zion Lutheran Church will lead services at Shepherd of the Valley on November 24.
PAM STENZEL
THE HIGH COST OF FREE LOVE
World renowned abstinence educator, Pam Stenzel, will present “The High Cost Of Free Love” on Wednesday, November 20th, at Century High School. 7th and 8th grade students and parents are invited to attend the 6:00 PM session and senior high youth are urged to attend the 7:30 presentation. Tickets are free. Contact Pastor Wolfgram or Kristin Nistler to reserve seats. zionlcmsbis@gmail.com or 701-223-8286.
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING:
“Pam speaks from the experience of having counseled girls at a teen pregnancy center for 15 years. So many of them said to her that if they had known, they would have made a better choice. She takes an uncomfortable subject and makes it entertaining and informative. Every parent should attend this with their son or daughter.”
JOYFUL GIVING
St. Paul wrote to the Church of Christ in Corinth: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7). God loves a cheerful giver. But who is a cheerful giver?
Abel was. By faith, Abel gave the firstborn of his flock, and it was acceptable in God’s sight. Abraham was. By faith, Abraham prepared cakes and a tender choice calf for God and entertained angels unaware. So also were David and Solomon. By faith, David would not make a sacrifice to God that cost him nothing, so he paid Araunah his due. By faith, Solomon built a house for God, where his name would dwell and thereby where He would dwell to be Israel’s God and they His people.
What more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of all those who gave not simply for the joy of giving but for the joy of knowing the One to whom they gave.
So also our Lord, who for the joy set before Him, gave everything, yes, even His life, enduring the cross and scorning its shame. He gave to the shedding of His blood, willingly and resolutely setting His face toward Jerusalem to die for the life of the world. Though He was rich in every way, He became poor, so that by His poverty we might be rich beyond measure.
So then, let us – like Abel and Abraham, like David and Solomon, and even like our Lord Jesus Christ – give cheerfully to God for the work of His kingdom in our midst. Like them, let us decide in our heart – for the joy set before us – the joy of knowing the One to whom we give is the One who gives us all good things.
MISSOURI VALLEY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
The Missouri Valley Chamber Orchestra will present Die Fledermaus at Shepherd of the Valley on Friday, November 15 at 7:00 PM. The University of Mary Vocal Ensemble is their partner in farce for Die Fledermaus (Revenge of the Bat), an operetta by Johann Strauss II. Full of waltzes and polkas, mistaken identities and mayhem, the show, coached by award-winning soprano Dr. Youna Hartgraves and Conductor Dennis Gowen, is a rare musical treat for Bismarck. Adult $18, Senior $15, Student $10, Child $5.
INTRODUCTION TO THE FORMULA OF CONCORD
To all the saints of Bethel and Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Churches,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. While I am serving as your vicar for this year, I have the privilege to write to you in the monthly newsletter. For the next few months, I will write about one of the documents in the Book of Concord, The Formula of Concord. While deciding what to write about, I thought of the question: why am I a Lutheran? You see, I was not raised as a Lutheran. I was raised as a Baptist. So, why did I join the Lutheran church as opposed to the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, or stay a Baptist? It was not to make my Lutheran wife happy. It was not about me just trying to be different from my family. It was not because I liked a more liturgical form of worship (I was actually very uncomfortable with the Lutheran style of worship at first). I became a Lutheran because I found the Lutheran teaching to be the teaching of the Bible. The more I studied the teachings of Lutheranism and that of other Christian denominations, I became more convinced that the Lutheran Church had a correct understanding of all the teachings in the Bible. As I dove into the Book of Concord, I became even more convinced that the Lutheran teachings were exactly what the Bible taught.
The Book of Concord is a collection of documents that confess what the Lutheran Church teaches. The Book of Concord contains the three universal creeds of the church, as well as other documents known as The Augsburg Confession, The Apology (defense) of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Power and Primacy of the Pope, Martin Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms, and the Formula of Concord. There are a lot of documents in the Book of Concord, all of which confess what the Lutheran church teaches. You might wonder, “Why can’t we just have the Bible?” I wondered the same thing when I learned about the Book of Concord. The problem has to do with sin. God gives us His pure and true Word; yet, we as sinful creatures have a knack for messing things up and disbelieving God’s Word. That is where error comes into the church. That is what happened in the Roman Catholic Church and why the Reformation happened.
The German princes who agreed with Luther’s teaching eventually responded to errors that had crept into the Roman Catholic Church by presenting the Augsburg Confession in 1530. The Augsburg Confession stated the Lutheran teaching and the Apology of the Augsburg Confession further defended that teaching from the assaults of the Roman Catholics. Yet, even among the Lutherans, false teaching began creeping into the church. After Martin Luther died in 1546, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, began trying to stamp out the Lutherans through military might. The Lutheran territories fell to the armies of Emperor and soon, some Lutherans began to compromise the Lutheran teachings with that of the Roman Catholic Church. This resulted in a great controversy within the Lutheran Church. On one side stood those willing to submit to the pope and some of the Catholic teachings to bring about peace. On the other side stood those who ardently held to the Lutheran confessions.
The stage was set for the Formula of Concord. The controversies were in place. The walls of the two opposing theological views were manned with their proponents. It was prime conditions for a theological battle. Yet, a few theologians took up the task of wading through the controversy to find the Biblical truth behind each issue. Theologians such as Martin Chemnitz and Jakob Andreae met in the city of Torgau in 1576. In Torgau, the Formula of Concord was written which addressed the significant controversies at hand.
There are twelve articles in the Formula of Concord: 1) Original Sin; 2) Free Will; 3) The Righteousness of Faith Before God; 4) Good Works; 5) The Law and The Gospel; 6) The Third Use of God’s Law; 7) The Holy Supper of Christ; 8) The Person of Christ; 9) The Descent of Christ to Hell; 10) Church Practices; 11) God’s Eternal Foreknowledge and Election; 12) Other Factions and sects. Each article deals with a particular controversy in the Lutheran Church at the time and in the following newsletters, we will look at each article.
I am looking forward to our study of the Formula of Concord and may the Lord bless you as we learn more about God’s Word and our Biblical teachings in the Lutheran Church.
Blessings, Vicar Dailey.
MEDIA HELPERS NEEDED
If you are interested in helping with the Video Production of the church, please contact Rob Burkhardsmeier at 701-226-0029. Thank you!
| NOVEMBER BAPTISMAL
BIRTHDAYS Sara Nelson 11/7 Brandy Peterson 11/12 Grace Wolfgram 11/13 Mark Purdy 11/15 Kim Strum 11/15 Jensen Hintz 11/16 Molly Fetzer 11/18 Joy Doll 11/21 Kim Reiner 11/23 Nate Strum 11/25 Jeremy Gildea 11/30
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| NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS
Joy Doll Fred Hartleib Carol Mohl Daniel Dever Patrick Maloney Kim Strum Marlinda Bender Lester Wolfgram Kole Reinhardt Jeanne Karalus Darlene Kautzman Garry Fuhrman Gloria Dollinger Denise Wolfgram Shari Zeis Jerry Ekstrom Mckenzie Kramer Bryce Olson Nate Burkhardsmeier Aundrea Budeau Jim Leuwer Kaleb Reinhardt Sydney Isaak Arlan Kostek Dori Fetzer Max Nelson
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| ELDERS OF THE MONTH
Nov 1-15 Kevin Olson Nov 16-31 Craig Helm
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| THE PURPOSE OF SHEPHERD OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH IS TO PROVIDE SPIRITUAL NURTURE THROUGH WORD AND SACRAMENT, LIVE THE FAITH AND REACH INTO THE COMMUNITY WITH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. |
| November Anniversaries
Jim & Sherry Hawley 11/24/61
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November Ushers 2019
*Nov 3 Craig Helm & Robert Knutson 8:15am
Marty Bjergaard & Steve Reiman 10:45am
Nov 10 John Hoffman & Don Gienger 8:15am
Cheryl Purdy & Ken Purdy 10:45am
*Nov 17 Kevin Brockel & Micheal Henke 8:15am
Greg & Melvin Sutheimer 10:45am
Nov 24 Dwight Cook & Lonny Lang 815am
Kevin Olson & Leon Lippert 1045am
November Greeters 2019
*Nov 3 Lowell & Corrin Fahrni 8:15am
Chuck & JoAnn Falkenstein 10:45am
Nov 10 Marion Meske 8:15am
Leslie Watson 10:45am
*Nov 17 Wayne & Joy Doll 8:15am
Pam Dever & Lily Dever 10:45am
Nov 24 Becky & Jeremy Gildea 8:15am
Walter & Bernice Rehling 10:45am
November Acolytes 2019
*Nov 3 Hunter P. 8:15am
Brekken Z. 10:45am
Nov 10 Keityn H. 8:15am
Emma V. 10:45am
*Nov 17 Zeva B. 8:15am
Reagan D. 10:45am
Nov 24 Blake N. 8:15am
Daisy A. 10:45am