Dear friends of Jesus connected through Peace,
Have you ever heard of apologetics? Apologetics doesn’t mean that we apologize. Rather, apologetics refers to defending Christian convictions and answering questions. For example, if you say, “I believe in God” and then someone says, “Really?”. If you respond by saying, “yes, really. I have always believed in God since I was a little child. I have always had a sense of God’s love and presence”…. If you say that, you are defending and explaining your faith. The question “really” implies, “what good reason do you have to believe in God”? The reason you give them: “I’ve always believed in God”. That is, he has never left me or given me any reason to not believe in him. That kind of faithfulness is hard to come by.
Many people comment that they don’t share the gospel much with others. There are many reasons for that. One reason is definitely that we don’t know to say - especially if people challenge our beliefs.
So I want to encourage you to take a little time to learn the explanations for the Christian faith. There are a lot! Each of them gives me confidence that I will have something to say when someone says to me, “wait, really?”
If you are wondering about apologetics and giving answers for what you believe, I invite you to check out a discussion we previously had. histheo-apologetics-defending_the_faith-lesson_01.docx After you’ve done so, let pastor know the questions you’ve considered recently and he’ll be glad to help you answer!
See you Sunday at 9:30!
Pastor T
Christmas Choir - We’re having a choir to celebrate Christmas this year. Join the choir to practice December 7th, 14th, and 21st to practice for Christmas Eve December 24th!
Gospel Spotlight
Trail for Treaters went quite well. We got to say “hello” to as many as 2,000 people and passed out cookies to 1,200 or so people. People got a good chuckle from the cookie monster.
Sadly, we didn’t get to talk to anyone about the monsters that Jesus crushes for us. But we picture the kingdom of God! May God draw them in.
Our next big chance to be connect with people in Otsego Plainwell is December 6th for Hometown Christmas starting at 4:00 pm. Come pass out cocoa and say hi! Talk to pastor at 269-694-6104 if you want more information.
Where did you see the gospel at work this week?
Prayer Highlight
We got to see so many people this week at the Trail for Treaters. This week I invite you to pray that God would move some of them to hear what we have to say.
“Holy Spirit, thank you for each and every opportunity we have to present you, your grace, and the kingdom of God to the people around us. I pray that you would go before and behind us to move hearts. Open them to the glory of God in Jesus Christ.
“In Jesus’ name we pray,
“Amen.”
Our sick or homebound friends - Judy Haugh, Brenda Grimm, Shirley Kling, Darlene Syers, Irene Haas, Maxine Sandahl, and Marge Gavan
“Still Not Frozen: Reformation 2025”
Greet to celebrate the Reformation with you! Thanks for enjoying some ice cream with me. Do you feel that freedom you have? Freedom from evil and even the jaws of death? That’s the only way we keep living in our freedom well. We have freedom from these problems, but that doesn’t mean we have freedom for whatever we want.
Be sure to enjoy the sermon on our podcast https://nathanieltimmermann.podbean.com/ or youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZDTeJ41Av0
Voters’ Meeting follow up
The voters met Sunday, October 26th after the service to make decisions for 2026 ministry.
We approved an Emergency Funding Plan that would be implemented if necessary. The chief point of the Emergency Funding Plan is that we would release all gifts that had not been designated by a donor. This would mainly apply to Memorial Funds, which are gifts given in honor of a deceased individual. To see this plan, see our “Doctrine and Policy Handbook” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QejXdmcVtYb7t4ChOhkcDpz9YkeCvGMTL3KcYwhUEuo/edit?usp=drive_link
We approved a budget for 2026, affirming our commitment to Christian ministry next year. We decided to continue ministry in 2026 expecting about a $15,000 deficit (ie spending about $15,000 more than we make in the year).
We did NOT decide how particularly to carry out ministry in 2026 in order to address the deficit and the ministry situation. We also did not decide when we would make this decision. We did NOT decide a 2026 ministry plan.
We’ll try to follow up with you regarding decisions for 2026 ministry. We invite you to talk with pastor or the council.
IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)
Individuals 70 ½ or older should also know that they can receive some excellent benefits through IRA charitable distributions. Since the explanation is fairly lengthy, please visit the WELS page that explains. https://mcg.welsrc.net/download-mcg/ira-charitable-distributions/. If you need help, please speak with Ralph Holewa, our financial secretary.
Thanksgiving!
“3 I thank my God every time I remember you.” (Philippians 1:3) Do you thank God for other people? I hope thanksgiving will help you give thanks.
If you are learning how to give thanks, come to our gathering on November 26th 6:30 pm at our Thanksgiving Service. Please join us!
As a group of believers, we are especially glad to give thanks for what we call “kingdom thanksgivings”. Kingdom thanksgivings are the gospel-related work God is up to among us. It’s what he does with his good news of forgiveness and life. Suggestions include
baptisms
professions of faith
deliverance from sin
repentance
new or renewed convictions of Bible teaching
Be sure to grab a postcard at church to add to our “kingdom thanksgivings” board! Or email church@peaceotsego.org or text 269-694-6104
Christmas
Christmas is coming soon, and we’re going to make it great together at Peace!
We’ll start November 30th with an Advent service at 9:30 am.
Enjoy the wonder and happiness of Christmas at Otsego’s Hometown Christmas on Saturday December 6th from about 4:00 - 7:00 pm. We’ll be handing out cocoa and providing security at the parade.
On Sunday December 7th decorate Peace so that we can see Christmas really come to life. Sunday December 7th 11:00 am. Pizza will be served!
Our students will share the Christmas message before Christmas Eve.
We’ll celebrate the birth of Jesus December 24th and 25th.
Ushers
Ushers serve a simple but important role in the life of our congregation. Ushers
welcome people to the service
provide a friendly face
pass out service outlines and other materials
direct people to seats
watch for emergency situations
keep the doors locked as needed
We’d like the men among us to get this done. We’ll have a training in the new year.
Here is a description of the ushering work. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t197IyxfQ1yFJ_CG4jO42jp5DCkuXmyd-yVAU5Swa9A/edit?tab=t.0
Please reach out to the office (269-694-6104) if you can take a month or stop by the next steps table to sign up.
January - Full! Thanks
February - Need 1
March - Need 2
April - Need 2
May - Need 2
June - Need 1
July - Need 2
August - Need 2
September - Need 2
October - Need 2
November - Need 2
December - Need 2
Calendar
November 9th 9:30 service, catechism
November 13th 12:00 pm Senior lunch
November 13th 6:30 pm Study @ Peace
November 15th 9:30 am Christian Theology
November 16th 9:30 service, catechism
November 21st 11:00 am Ladies Guild
November 21st 6:30 pm Bunco
November 26th 6:30 pm Thanksgiving service
November 30th 9:30 Advent service
January 19-21st Lutheran Leadership Conference https://peaceotsego.org/peacenews/lutheranleadership2026
July 14-17 Youth Rally
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Peace Lutheran Church 805 S Wilmott St Otsego, MI 49078
269-694-6104 https://peaceotsego.org