January 2017

3700 S. Casper Drive, New Berlin, WI (262)786-2900

www.starofbethlehem.org

But I trust in you, LORD;

I say, “You are my God.”

My times are in your hands.

Psalm 31:14-15

One time a small boy stood near the grandfather clock at his house. He loved to count out loud with the chimes marking a new hour. One day, as the noon chime sounded 12, something happened! Instead of stopping at 12, it kept right on chiming, 13-14-15-16…

The little boy jumped to his feet and ran into the kitchen, shouting, “Mom, Mom! It’s later than it has ever been before!”

IT IS LATER THAN IT HAS EVER BEEN BEFORE!

How true! For each of us, it is later than it has ever been before. We are all getting older, changing by the hour, and heading towards that day when we will meet our

Savior face-to-face through our faith in Him.

Yet, before we get depressed, the Lord assures us that our times are in His hands. We can trust in Him! The Lord assures us that when it comes to the times of our lives, He has all the bases covered.

Our past is forgiven through the shed blood of Christ.

Our present is taken care of through His merciful provision.

Our future is secure through the promises of His Word.

Truly our times are in God’s hands! We trust in Him!

Prayer: Eternal Father, as time passes, I praise You that You are outside of time. Order my times around Your will so that I may truly trust in You. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Devotion written by Luther Brunette Adapted from “Best-Loved Passages of the Bible”

Some questions to pray about:

Am I trusting God with “my times”, or am I trusting more in myself?

How have I used the past time that God has graciously given to me?

How will I use the future time that God has planned for me?

One Service will be conducted on Sunday, January 1, at 9:30 a.m. New Year’s Day is the 8th Day after Jesus’ birth. On the 8th Day Jesus was circumcised and given the name, “Jesus.” Jesus means “Savior.” That is in keeping with what the angel said prior to Jesus’ birth: “because he will save his people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21). We invite and encourage you to join us for this special Service, as we start the New Year with worship. Please invite family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to join us!

Jesus! Name of wondrous love, Name all other names above, Unto which must ev’ry knee

Bow in deep humility.

Jesus! Name of priceless worth To the fallen here on earth For the promise that it gave, “Jesus shall his people save!”

Regular Worship Schedule We will return to our Regular Worship Schedule on January 7-9, 2017. Saturday Night Services will resume at 5:30 p.m., Sunday Morning Services will be at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m., and Monday Night Services will be at 6:30 p.m. We hope this schecule provides you will sufficient opportunities to attend Worship Services each week throughout the New Year. “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 95:6-7).

Spiritual Growth

Opportunities

Our Spiritual Growth Programs will resume on Sunday, January 8. Our Jesus and Me Program for children will be at 9:15 a.m. Our Bible Study for Teens and our Adult Bible Class will resume at 9:20

a.m., and our Monday Night Bible Class will resume on Jan. 9, at 7:45 p.m. Please join us for these opportunities for spiritual growth for the whole family. There is also nursery care for infants and toddlers during the Adult Bible Class time in the Extended Care Room, right next to the Fellowship Hall or Large Bible Study Room.

“Grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever!” 2 Peter 3:18

Baptisms The daughters of Bobbi Aidan Maxwell Juern, son of Jeremy and Anna Juern, was baptized at Star of Bethlehem on Sunday, December 4, 2016. Adalyn Ericksen Tobiasz, daughter of Patrick and Tammy Tobiasz, was baptized at Star of Bethlehem on Sunday, December 11, 2016. Jonah Paul Schwartz, son of Senior Vicar John and Erin Schwartz, was baptized at Waukesha Memorial Hospital on Thursday, December 15, 2016. May the Lord keep all of these little lambs in his loving arms throughout life to life everlasting. “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39).

Called Home It pleased Almighty God to call out of this life the soul of Georgia Stamm to our eternal home in heaven. A Christian Funeral Service was conducted here at Star of Bethlehem on December 1, 2016. Committal was held at the Valhalla Memorial Park on December 2. May the Lord comfort all who mourn with the sure promise of a joyous reunion in heaven. “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19).

Bible Information

Course

A new session of the Bible Information Course, a series of 10 lessons on the basics of our Christian faith, will begin on Thursday, January 19, at 6:30 p.m. Lessons go from 6:30-8:00 p.m. If you would like to be a part of the next session, please contact any pastor or our Administrative Assistants, Jodi or Julie, in the Church Office. The course is free. All materials are provided. Please enroll to allow us to assemble enough materials and to ensure places for you in this new session. We would love to share with you what we preach and teach, and why we do so. Please join us!

Snow Removal The Trustees are looking for volunteers that are able to help with snow shoveling. If you are able to help in any way, please contact Larry Schaefer at 262-679-1801.

Preschool, ELC, & Kindergarten

Enrollment for the 2016-17 School Year

Star of Bethlehem School begins to enroll for the 2017-2018 school year in January for our Early Learning Center, Preschool, and Kindergarten. We will be sending out letters to all of our member families the first week in January overviewing all details. If you do not receive a letter by January 7, please call our office immediately. Timeliness is essential when enrolling. If you are not a member, and would like information, please call our office. We would love to let you know about our flexible, full and part time options for 3 and 4 year-olds, our kindergarten, and our school family here at Star.

Our Annual Voters’ Meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 6:30 p.m. Adoption of our budget, elections, new organizational structure, and other year-end reports are on the agenda. We encourage all of our voters to come and do our Father’s business.

Sincere Thanks! You are to be commended once again for your generous outpouring of gifts for the residents at the Linden Grove Health Care Center. Your abundance of generous gifts impressed not only the residents but also the Linden Grove staff. Sincere thanks for this activity of love in behalf of these important members of our community. Special thanks to our volunteers from Star of Bethlehem without whom we could not conduct our Wednesday Morning Services each week at 9:30 a.m.; Nancy Albrecht, Pat Corner, Laverne Oberneder and Cindy Breber. If others would like to assist, just come to the lobby at the New Berlin Linden Grove Health Care Center at 9:00 a.m. any Wednesday. Our volunteers will be happy to show you what to do, primarily assisting the residents to the worship area on the 2nd floor. May the Lord continue to bless our ministry to the residents of Linden Grove!

MEN’S BASKETBALL LEAGUE

Your Star of Bethlehem men are 1-1 on the new season. We got off to a rather snowy start to the season, with one week’s league cancelled on account of bad weather. The league resumes play on Sunday, Jan. 8. Your team plays each week at 6:00 p.m. Come and watch any Sunday evening. Admission is free. Fan support is welcomed!

GYM FLOOR REFINISHED & CARPETS CLEANED

Over the Lutheran Elementary School’s break for Christmas vacation, the gym floor will be refinished. Please stay off the court until the “all-clear” signal is given. Also, our carpets on the church end and the lower level will be cleaned on Monday, January 2. If you need to enter the building, please do so through the school entrance doors. The carpeting should be dried and ready for use again on Wednesday, Jan. 4, when the Lutheran Elementary School resumes.

Weddings

Courtney Giovinazzo and William Denzer will be married at Star of Bethlehem on Friday, Jan. 6. Sarah Gruszka and Jonathan Daley will be married at the Pritzlaff in Milwaukee on Jan. 14. May the Lord bless them with many years of happiness in this God-designed estate for husbands and wives.

It’s that time of year to recount and review the Lord’s blessings upon our congregation for the past year. All those who submit an annual report for your board, committee, organization or activity, are encouraged to submit a report to Jodi Wandschneider, our Administrative Assistant, by Wednesday, Jan. 18. Thanks so much for your assistance in trying to meet this deadline, so the report can be compiled prior to our Annual Meeting on Jan. 24.

CHRISTMAS THANKS A sincere thank you to all those who provided plants to beautify our sanctuary, to those who decorated our church for the Christmas Season, and to all those who planned, prepared, and used your unique gifts to present our Special Advent, Christmas and New Year’s Services! “Well done!”

RESERVE THE DATE The Martin Luther College Choir will be here at Star of Bethlehem to give a concert on Friday, March 31, at 7:00 p.m. We will be serving the choir supper before the concert. We will be needing about 60 choir members to be housed by our congregation, provided a bag lunch as they travel the next day for concerts in Algoma and Neenah. It is a rare privilege to serve as hosts for the choir. This will be their only concert in the Milwaukee area. We encourage you to attend the concert, and willingly open your homes to these future pastors and teachers in training at Martin Luther College.

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ACTUAL THROUGHNOVEMBER 30

2016 BUDGET

GENERAL FUND OFFERINGS FOR 2016

Offerings Update Here is where we stand as of the end of October with Annual Mission Plan (Budget). We give thanks to the Lord for the treasures that Star members are able to share to enable the work we do together to be accomplished.

We are hoping to have this new Pictorial Directory completed as a part of our church’s 50th Anniversary and the school’s 40th Anniversary celebration on August 20 of 2017. Please sign up to have your picture taken! Thank you!

From the President I read recently that the busiest shopping day of the year actually occurs on the day after Christmas – December 26. Apparently, all those gift cards – and unwanted gifts that are returned for something else – are the main reasons for the huge throngs of people that hit the stores on that date. However, in terms of dollar sales volume it’s quite another story as all those bargains eat into retailers’ top line.

But there’s one gift – a very perfect gift – that we don’t have to even think about returning . . . .

Jesus is that perfect gift.

Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah son of Amoz wrote:

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9:2)

A bit later, in Isaiah 9:6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Does that sound like a gift that needs to be returned or exchanged?

And what an amazing gift it is – that our almighty God sent his Son, true God from all eternity, Creator of all things, to purify us from the sins that condemn all of us! If that birth had never occurred – if the promised Messiah had never appeared – all of us would still be wondering around “in the land of deep darkness.”

In our secular society, gifts can be readily exchanged or returned for something perceived to be more fitting or stylish.

But who in their right mind would ever want to exchange the exquisite gift of the Christ Child? For it’s this same Child that readily exchanged his life for ours so that we might be right with an all-holy God.

May this wonderful season fill you with peace and hope and joy!

See you in church. Gene Szaj -- Church President