Behold the Man!
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. . . . The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
—John 1:1–3, 14
“Behold the man!” proclaimed the unwitting preacher Pontius Pilate in one of the shortest, yet most profound, sermons ever recorded. This will be our endeavor this Lententide and Easter Sunday. Behold the man, God in human flesh, Jesus. His incarnation will provide the basis for our meditation and proclamation on His Passion. And His real, bodily suffering and death will provide the basis for our full-throated proclamation on Easter morning of a bodily resurrection, not just of Jesus but also for His saints. Real bodies that have suffered, wept, bled, prayed, eaten, hoped, and more will be those raised incorruptible from their graves on the day of Jesus’ return.
We will fix our eyes and our preaching on the man Jesus, contemplating the inescapable fact—indeed the most important fact in the course of human history—that God became man. The Second Person of the eternal, triune God, who we confess in the Nicene Creed as “God of God, Light of light, very God of very God . . . of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made,” became a living, breathing, flesh-and-blood human being, a man.
In some ways, you can understand that the first heresy the Christian Church had to contend with was that of Gnosticism, the hyperspiritual religion that held that because no man could be God, the Christ could not be God. Gnosticism is alluring because it tidies everything up, gives Christianity a more attractive, spiritual veneer, and pulls its adherents out of the mire of this world and gives them something other-worldly to strive for.
Considered correctly, it becomes pretty hard to spiritualize Christianity—a religion that bases its existence on the enfleshment, the incarnation, of her God—into the mess of disembodied, matter-rejecting, hyperspiritual Gnosticism. When God has flesh and blood, skin and teeth, cells and nuclei, DNA and RNA, it’s difficult to contend for the disembodied spiritual against the material. If God has a body, bodies must matter.
In case you aren’t convinced of the pervasiveness of the second-century heresy of Gnosticism, even in our twenty-first-century context, attend a funeral. If you hear talk only of heaven with nary a word of a bodily resurrection, you’ve witnessed firsthand modern-day Gnosticism. If the preacher doesn’t deal with the body in the casket as the real person whose death has assembled the mass of grieving relatives and friends, if he talks only about the bodyless soul in heaven, he hasn’t preached a genuinely Christian funeral. In other words, if he gives preference to the spiritual over the material, he succumbs to the Gnostic heresy the earliest generations of the Church sought to guard against by preaching the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus.
This Lent, we will consider what it means that God became man. In preparation for the celebration of a real, bodily, flesh-and-blood, bone-and-sinew resurrection, the resurrection without which our faith and our preaching are all in vain, consider the body of Jesus that exists in order to be nailed to a cross. The spiritual, bodyless Son of God became the embodied, enfleshed, incarnate Son of Mary. In Jesus, God has human flesh, a body, just like you. What could be more profound?
Each Wednesday at 7:00 pm and through Easter, we’ll consider a different aspect of the body of Jesus Christ. What does it mean that, in Jesus, God has hands, feet, lungs, lips, eyes, and ears?
Behold the man! In sermon, in study, in devotion, behold the man!
© 2018 Concordia Publishing House. Scripture: ESVÒ.
Vacation Bible School Scheduled
“Miraculous Mission: Jesus Saves The World” is the theme for Vacation Bible School scheduled to take place mornings from 9:00-12:00 on Tuesday-Thursday, May 28-20. There will be special arrangements for parents who need to drop off their children early. Please visit with Samantha Henke or Carrie Harling if you would like to help out with VBS or if you have a child whom you’d like to register for VBS 2019.
You can use the Easy online registration for attendees and volunteers at the below Link
https://vbsmate.com/sotvbismarck
Women’s Bible Study
Did you know – Shepherd of the Valley and Bethel women have been participating in a shared Bible Study for the last couple of years? They meet at Shepherd of the Valley on the second Saturday of each month at 9:30 a.m. In March they will be meeting on March 9. The Bible Study is “Waiting: A Bible Study on Patience, Hope, and Trust” by Sharla Fritz. In March they will be studying about Anna and her wait to see the Savior. We would love to have you join us! The book can be purchased through CPH. If you have any questions you can contact Sue Hartley-Wolfgram at 460-0229 or at blessingspreserved@yahoo.com
+“Main Street Living North” for March 2019:
March 3: Vicar Brian Shane, Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Fargo, ND, presents the message: “Artificial Intelligence?” based on Luke 9:28-36. Today’s This Is The Life program is “Man Adrift.”
March 10: Rev. Matthew Meyer, Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Callaway, MN, presents the message: “Trust in the Lord” based on Deuteronomy 26:1-11. Today’s This Is The Life program is “Time Out For Bill.”
March 17: Rev. Thomas Eckstein, Concordia Lutheran Church, Jamestown, ND, delivers today’s message: “Let the Children Come to Me!”based on Mark 10:13-16. Today’s This Is The Life program is “A Gift for Grandpa.”
March 24: Rev. Guy Roberts, Zion Lutheran Church, Detroit Lakes, MN, presents the message: “Repent or Die” based on Ezekiel 33:7-20, I Corinthians 10:1-13 and Luke 13:1-5. Today’s This Is The Life program is “Boy on the Fence.”
March 31: Rev. Jonathan Durkopp, Trinity English Lutheran Church, LaMoure, ND, and Trinity Lutheran Church, Adrian, ND, presents the message: True Repentance” based on Luke 15:1-3, 11-32. Today’s This Is The Life program is “The Sin of Roy Baxter.”
“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 (594) Bismarck/Dickinson, and archived on www.mainstreetliving.com(then click on “North (Fargo)”.
Christ’s Care for Children – Kenya and Project 24 Update
2019 is a new year and we continue to see how Project 24 progresses. 32 students graduated class 8 last year and will now continue on to secondary school or technical training school. This also means that we now have availability to take in 32 new students who will reside at one of the P24 sites. Our enrollment is growing steadily and we continue to share the love of God with all of these children. As the enrollment increases, we are also seeing each site growing in their sustainability projects. As you may recall, each site is responsible for taking the income received throughout the holidays when the children are home and create new ideas to help sustain their site. These ideas/ projects have included growing their own food, taking care of livestock and building guest houses on their properties. This last holiday, the site managers began new projects as they continued to care for their existing projects. We continue to thank God for the growth in all areas. Shepherd of the Valley continues to support Christ’s Care For Children – Kenya through the first quarter of 2019.
Martin Luther School Update
The Buffalo Wings and Rings fundraiser for MLS will take place on Thursday, March 14th, 5:00-9:00 PM. Come out and support Martin Luther School and enjoy great food and fellowship with other supporters of the school.
Mayfest 2019
Mayfest will have a new look this year. Please plan to attend Mayfest 2019 as it takes place on May 4th at the Cafetorium at Wachter Middle School. Cost for tickets will be much less than in the past at $20.00 per person. Silent and live auction items will be available along with the paddle game and other opportunities to support Martin Luther School. More information will be available soon. Save May the Fourth on your calendar and plan to attend!
People Matter Community Carnival
The Community Carnival hosted by People Matter Bismarck is scheduled for Saturday, May 11, from 11:00-2:00 PM on the grounds of Wachter Middle School. The carnival provides a wonderful opportunity for Shepherd of the Valley to reach out to the community. We will host a booth and share information with people who attend the carnival. Volunteers are needed to help with the Shepherd of the Valley booth as well as registration booths for the People Matter host booth.
The purpose of People Matter is to share information with the Bismarck community about resources in our community to assist people in their time of need. At our first carnival in May of 2017, fifteen organizations were represented and 500 people attended the event. In May, 2018, 43 help service organizations from the community shared their information with some 1200 participants. Inflatables, free food, a dunk tank and many free give-away prizes has made for a festive atmosphere and great connections between the public and agencies/organizations in our community that are here to help. Our next planning meeting is March 14, 10:00 AM at Shepherd of the Valley. Please visit with Pastor Wolfgram if you are interested in participating in the Community Carnival.
| MARCH BAPTISMAL BIRTHDAYS
Reagan Dever 3/5 Henry Harling 3/5 Justin Dever 3/15 Rob Burkhardsmeier 3/17 John Lapp 3/17 Kallen Hintz 3/18 Maddie Leapaldt 3/20 Leland Miller 3/22 Ronda Nottestad 3/25 Miranda Albrecht 3/26 Lucas Bornemann 3/27
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| MARCH BIRTHDAYS
Eileen Hickcox Maddie Leapaldt Justin Dever Joe Kalonick Jr. Sam Nelson Rob Burkhardsmeier Brent Purdy Tony Aukland Cheryl Purdy Kari Kramer Reese Spomer Leon Lippert Norman Mohl Ariana Kapla Doug Hintz Dan Houfek Joel Leapaldt Ronda Nottestad Lindsey Watson Denise Ensz Dwyane Keith Samy Gienger Charlotte Schields Linda Houfek Michael Nelson
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| March Elders
03-03 Kevin Olson 03-10 to 03-24 Steve Reiman 03-31 Ken Purdy
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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. |
| MARCH ANNIVERSARIES
Lowell & Corrin Fahrni 3/28/1971
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March Ushers 2019
*Mar 3 Rob Burkhardsmeier & Robert Knutson 815am
Cheryl Purdy & Bob Ziebarth 1045am
Mar 10 Don Geinger & John Hoffman 815am
Dan Jackson & Justin Dever 1045am
*Mar 17 Kevin Brockel & Dwight Cook 815am
Leon Lippert & Curt Krecklau 1045am
Mar 24 Micheal Henke & Lonny Lang 815am
Kari Kramer & Laith Hintz 1045am
Mar 31 Chuck Falkenstein & Eliot Reinke 815am
Greg & Melvin Sutheimer 1045am
March Greeters 2019
*Mar 3 Dwayne & Joyce Keith 815am
Leon & Jerry Lippert 1045am
Mar 10 Carrie & Nate Harling 815am
Chuck & JoAnn Falkenstein 1045am
*Mar 17 Don Gienger 815am
Eliot Reinke 1045am
Mar 24 Joel Leapaldt 815am
Leslie Watson 1045am
Mar 31 Lowell & Corrin Fahrni 815am
Pam Dever & Lily Dever 1045am
March Acolytes 2019
*Mar 3 Zeva 815am
Bryanna 1045am
Mar 10 Max 815am
Gabe 1045am
*Mar 17 Hunter 815am
Reagan 1045am
Mar 24 Miranda 815am
Lindsey 1045am
Mar 31 Blake 815am
Kallen 1045am