Resurrection Lutheran Church, Verona, Wisconsin

Resurrection Lutheran Church & PreK School 6705 Wesner Rd. Verona, WI 53593

Phone: 608.848.4965, Website: www.rlcverona.org Email: resurrection@tds.net

Pastor Nathan Strutz - cell:608.515.4334, pastor.resurrection@tds.net

Vicar Jacob Haag - 920.226.5339,

vicarhaag@rlcverona.com

PreK Director - Katie Mikula, 608.848.4966, kmikula@rlcverona.com

Ministry Coordinator - Susan Dilgard, 608.848.4965,

resurrection@tds.net

Resurrection Lutheran Church, Verona, Wisconsin

Many expressions of love and affection will be exchanged once again this Valentine’s Day. Yet, there is no greater act of love than the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus for our salvation. The whole of Scripture revolves around this one supreme act of unconditional love!

But why is it that Christians associate the title Christ with God’s love in Jesus? What does the word Christ mean? A look at God’s Word will help explain this. The Gospel of Matthew begins by recording the genealogy of Jesus, “…and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” (Matthew 1:16).

As Matthew sets the tone for his Gospel, he is careful to note that Jesus was revered as Christ. This familiar title is actually a form of the Greek word chrio meaning “to pour or anoint.” To anoint was to pour sacred oil over someone's head as a visible sign that God had set him aside for a special task. Jesus bore the title Christ because he was the one God anointed to be the world’s Savior.

The Gospel of John in the first chapter reveals Jesus, the Word made flesh, and describes Andrew’s excitement at having met Jesus: “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ)” (John 1:41). Andrew bursts forth in joyful acclamation, using the title Messiah which is the Hebrew equivalent of Christ, “the Anointed One.”

The Gospel writer John is keen to point out that from the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry the hope of the ages was intimately associated with salvation in Jesus. Yes, at the time of his baptism Jesus was consecrated for his messianic ministry in a remarkable way…“heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:16-17). Jesus was anointed by the Spirit of God and received the clear approval of his heavenly Father. Talk about divine endorsement!

Because Jesus is The Anointed One, he is the one foretold in ancient prophecy who would bring salvation, redeeming us from the curse of sin! There is no greater act of love—true love! Now that’s a magnificent valentine!

February 2014 “ I am the resurrection and the life.” John 11:25 Volume 17 Issue 2

Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life…

A Life He gives and a Life we share...

Jesus is…the Messiah, the Christ

John 1:41

“We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).

Resurrection Lutheran Church, Verona, Wisconsin

Children’s Christmas Service Dec. 15th

Thank God for each person in Worship! In spite of bad weather and other factors, 130 people were in worship on average each week in December. This does not include December 22 when worship was cancelled due to a snow storm. Christmas Eve attendance was 129 with nine people attending for the first time. The Lord continues to bless us with new people at worship almost every week. Pray that we can continue have opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus with more people.

Resurrection Lutheran Church New Life News

Epic Tour! Twenty five Resurrection members and friends toured the Epic campus in Verona on Saturday, January 11. It is an awesome place right in our own backyard. In fact, Epic was chosen as the most well-designed work place in the coun-try beating out Facebook, Google and Microsoft. The tour lasted over four hours and all were in awe the entire time. Thanks to Epic employee Jacki Adams for leading the tour and thanks to Lori Cate for helping to organize. It was a tiring day with naps following…but a fantastic experience.

Resurrection Lutheran Church, Verona, Wisconsin

Congregational Meeting in February February 2 at 10:30 a.m. will be our next congregational meeting. Every meeting is a chance to thank God for the blessings he has given us and to plan and discuss for how God can use us to continue these blessings in the future. We will discuss and God-willing approve a budget for 2014 (initial projections show expenses staying the same as 2013). Please join us for "War Horse" at the Overture Center! The play is June 14, 2014 at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $56 each. Please sign up and pay Paulette Janikowski by the Feb 9 deadline. Tickets sell out quickly for this performance so must be purchased early. Hope to see you there! Evangelism Styles Bible Study Coming on Feb. 9! Have you always thought about evangelism ... but never really known how to start? Or thought that all evangelism is involves the intimidation of canvassing or knocking on doors? Sometimes we forget that the Bible presents many different ways, for many different personalities and gifts, of building bridges to share the gospel. Our next Bible class on Sunday morning will study just that: discovering how all of us, even if you don't consider yourself a natural evangelist, can participate in a team concept of evangelism. It will create open and honest groups where we can actively learn, discuss, plan, and actually practice how to do evangelism in a safe environment. It will especially focus on how we can transition from normal conversations to Christ-sharing conversations. Pastor and Vicar will both trade off teaching this class. The different evangelism styles we will study include: interpersonal style, serving style, invitational style, narrative style, intellectual style, and intentional style. February Bible Study Online Let's face it, there are a lot of obstacles to studying the Bible. It's cold and hard to get out in February. It's dark and can be dangerous driving at night. Where do I start reading the Bible? A special online Bible study in February will address all those concerns. The title of the study is, "I'd like to study my Bible, but..." The study will be led by WELS president Mark Schroeder and will be streamed live Wednesday, February 5, 12, 19 and 26 at both 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. The study is identical each time. You can watch from home on your own computer, gather with friends to watch together or come to church. Please sign up in the entryway if you are interested so we can make the proper arrangements. The study will consist of several rounds of 10-15 minutes of presentation, followed by 10 or so minutes for discussion. If you would like to watch the studies, but are unable to watch at that time, you can watch it later at www.wels.net/streams.

New Three Year Old Class here at RLP (Resurrection Lutheran PreSchool) and Open House! Beginning September 2, 2014, RLP will be offering a separate 3 year old class every Tuesday and Thursday, from 8:15-11:15am. Enrollment will begin in February. Please contact our director, Katie, with any questions or to enroll. RLP will be holding an Open House on Wednesday, February 5th from 5:30-7:30pm. Any families interested in 3 year old preschool or 4K are welcome to come! New Bible Study on Sunday Mornings. Want to tell a Friend The Best News of ALL? Many members have expressed the desire to tell friends about Jesus, but have trouble transitioning from chit chat to more important matters, like Christ or even church. Starting February 9, Pastor and Vicar will lead a Bible study on doing just that. We will examine styles and approaches to sharing your faith in Jesus, looking for openings and opportunities to turn the conversations to things that matter most. Study will take place in the fellowship hall each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Please join us! Resurrection/Our Redeemer Ski Outing The annual Resurrection/Our Redeemer ski/snowboard outing is scheduled for Friday, February 21st, 7-11pm at Tyrol Basin in Mt. Horeb. Cost is $12 for lift ticket and $8 for rentals. We have a firepit reserved and will serve snacks and drinks. If interested, there is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board or contact Ned Reimer. See you on the slopes! Men of RLC - Join us for “The Men of His Word” Conference Save the date! This year's "The Men of His Word" conference will be held Saturday, February 15th, in Oshkosh. Many of us attended last year and were really moved. This isn't your ordinary conference. It is both inspirational and informative. Registration is due February 8th. We have a sign up sheet in the narthex if you plan to attend. We will use that sign up sheet to coordinate a car pool. Please see the website www.menofhisword.org/ or contact Denny Moore for more information. Psalm 27...NO FEAR Psalm 27...NO FEAR. That is the theme of this years WELS International Youth Rally. This event is for teens entering their freshman year in 2014 through graduating seniors of 2015. It is being held at the University of Tennessee from June 25-28. We had a large group of teens attend the rally in 2012 and had great time. If you are interested in sending your teen to the rally, please contact Pastor or Ned Reimer.

Resurrection Lutheran Church, Verona, Wisconsin Resurrection Lutheran Church, Verona, Wisconsin

RLC PreK News - by: Director Katie Mikula

February is here! A ton of fun themes are planned for this month. They include: Chinese New Year, Pigeon Book Series, Be My Valentine, Library and Librarians, and Pets. We’ll celebrate Valentine’s Day with a fun little party including Valentines and Valentines related snacks. We just finished with our second set of assessments and the children received their very first report card on Janu-ary 31st. They were excited! Our Bible stories will take us into the New Testament and the children will hear about the birth of Jesus and his ministry. What a beautiful re-minder of the work Jesus did for us and the work we have been commanded to do: tell all people and nations about Jesus!

The Education Support Committee has been working on new projects for the year. We’ve received enough money to build the big playground structure and will look to get that installed ASAP so our current class can enjoy it be-fore summer. All that’s left to purchase is the tire swing and 20’ by 20’ awning that will give our playground space some shade. A HUGE thank you to all who donated and pledged money for this exciting addition!

RLP will begin a separate three year old class starting September 2, 2014. This class is for all children who are or will be three years old by September 1st and are potty trained. Children will meet every Tuesday and Thursday, from 8:15-11:15am. We are hosting an open house on Wednesday, February 5th from 5:30-7:30pm, so any inter-ested families are welcome to come and see the class-room! Please spread the word to family and friends!

PreK Snack Donations Needed! Please consider donating a snack item (or two) this month! We have made a new format! All you have to do is sign-up for a day and purchase that specific snack! All snack items need to be peanut free and not made in a facility that also processes peanuts. Any help in purchasing snack items is greatly appreciated and allows more time for our teacher to get school work done! You can find the sign-up sheet on the PreK bulletin board near the fellowship hall. Thanks in advance for your donation! ☺ New Three Year Old Class here at RLP (Resurrection Lutheran PreSchool) and Open House! Beginning September 2, 2014, RLP will be offering a separate 3 year old class every Tuesday and Thursday, from 8:15-11:15am. Enrollment will begin in February. Please contact our director, Katie, with any questions or to enroll. RLP will be holding an Open House on Wednesday, February 5th from 5:30-7:30pm. Any families interested in 3 year old preschool or 4K are welcome to come!

Our Class!

Making pancakes on PJ & Pancake Day!

Painting Snow