Dear friends of Jesus connected through Peace,
I was glad to follow Jesus with you and share him with others in 2025. We had a great year. Here a couple of highlights:
We gathered 67 times to enjoy God’s grace and call on his name
We welcomed three friends to the eternal family of God
We sent three friends to their eternal rest.
One young man confirmed his baptismal promises
We gathered $154K of gifts and spent $165K sharing the gospel with others
We added two new study groups and a new musician
Giving increased almost 5%.
We’ll celebrate more of God’s grace this Sunday.
We’ll review all of 2025’s ministry and make some final decisions for 2026. We’re going to pick one or two of these initiatives to work on:
____1__ Clarify vision - we don’t really know what we are trying to accomplish, under God’s grace; clarify what we are trying to do/become
____1__ Reach out to families and kids
____2__ Make sure all of our ministry is done with outsiders/outreach in mind
____2__ Engage “Church Renewal”, a process to
____3 __ Seek cooperation with other local WELS congregations
You can still share your opinion. Take a look at the list of options in this doc and send your preferences ranked 1 to 3 to pastor, or make your own copy and share it in the building. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ya_EyVKDuAqxOQfGbCgBVNP6Zl_fNppxXYR-KTe19Vs/edit?usp=drive_link
See you Sunday at 9:30 for another great service!
Lessons this week: Zephaniah 2:3, 11-13, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Matthew 5:1-12
Songs this week: “All I Have is Christ’, “His Robes for Mine” “Blest Are They”, “Go My Children with My Blessing”
See you Sunday at 9:30.
Gospel Spotlight
We’re celebrating a baptism this week, God willing! I am glad to share Jesus and all he did with Terry and Kyley, and it will be great to welcome them into God’s family this Sunday.
Where did you see the gospel at work this week?
Prayer Highlight
Let’s pray for our friends who will get baptized this week.
Dear Jesus, thank you for the faith you are working in Terry and Kyley. I pray that you would continue to work repentance and new life in them, that being set free from their old lives, they join you in new ones.
“In Jesus’ name we pray,
“Amen.”
Our sick or homebound friends - Judy Haugh, Brenda Grimm, Shirley Kling, Darlene Syers, Irene Haas, Maxine Sandahl, Marge Gavan, Cary (Cindy Hunt’s brother), Don Hutchinson, Sarah Sisson. Philippe (Igrine Keller’s father)
Easter 2026
Easter - we’re looking for a great team to help make Easter wonderful. I’m looking for people to help with outreach, decorating, music, and food. Let me know if you want to be part of the team!
Need your Valentine’s goodies?
Bake sale February 8th
Christianity Explored
I love the privilege of sharing the good news of Jesus with people, because the gospel is so much better than we can imagine.
It’s not too late to join the next session of our group to explore the basics of the gospel. Come out Monday night at 6:30!
This group is eight weeks and provides all the information you need to get to know the gospel.
If you want to check it out, visit https://www.christianityexplored.us/courses/christianity-explored/ for an overview. If you have any questions, please contact the office 269-694-6104 or church@peaceotsego.org
If you are an adult and interested in joining Peace Lutheran Church, this is the place to start.
The 8 sessions cover
Gospel
Identity
Sin
The cross and suffering
Resurrection and life
Grace and forgiveness
Following Jesus
God’s gifts
You can let me know you’re coming by contacting me at 269-694-6104.
Lent 2026 “It is Finished”
Let’s explore the ancient words of the prophet Zechariah—words written hundreds of years before Jesus walked the earth, yet describing his final days with breathtaking accuracy.
You'll be amazed at what you discover:
How did Zechariah know about the thirty pieces of silver? The piercing on the cross? The disciples scattering in fear? The cleansing power of Jesus' sacrifice? As we read these prophecies side by side with the Gospel accounts, you'll see God's loving plan of rescue unfolding with stunning precision—a plan set in motion long before that first Easter morning.
Come and experience:
The comfort of knowing your Savior wasn't a victim of circumstances, but the fulfillment of God's eternal promise
The wonder of seeing prophecy and reality align perfectly in Jesus
Fresh insights into familiar stories that will deepen your faith
Time to reflect, renew, and draw closer to the One who gave everything for you
Whether you've been walking with Jesus for years or you're just beginning to explore who he is, this series will open your eyes to the beautiful truth: every detail of Jesus' journey to the cross was part of God's love letter to you.
Come discover—or rediscover—the One who declared "It is finished!" and meant it.
Lent begins February 18th with Ash Wednesday service at 6:30 pm.
Consider My Financial Life in the New Year
As you head into the new year, let me encourage you and provide some help if I can with regard to your finances. Finances are important to us all. We feel pressure due to inflation. We experience changes in income. We might face new costs and expenses. We pay careful attention to our finances because money always means more than dollars and cents.
There are too many little things to consider when it comes to good financial practices. If you want someone to talk to, feel free to ask. We can commiserate together (and I might be able to point you in a helpful direction). We’ll do a “Financial Peace University” seminar again soon. You can learn more there.
Let me encourage you to take careful stock of your financial position and see how you are giving your best to the Lord. God tells us a lot about money and finances. Here are two resources that might help you as you consider your financial position and generosity in 2026.
A “Financial State of the Household” tool - a tool to overview your household finances Click here to download
A basic budget Click here to download
If either of those things help you, I’m glad. Let me know if I can do more for you!
Social Engineering and Scams
Scams and what is called “social engineering” have become commonplace. Nonprofits and churches are common targets.
Here are some common signs.
Scams commonly ask for money in gift cards or bank transactions.
They often use email addresses or phone numbers that look similar to legitimate ones. If you look at the example above, the email is similar (ntimmermann.peaceotsego@gmail.com) but isn’t identical to my business address: ntimmermann@peaceotsego.org. Be sure to check the sender address.
Second, note how these contacts don’t include names or small talk. Remember, I know you and like you. We have a real relationship and serve real people.
Third, these are requests for gift cards, specifically Amazon cards. We use gift cards to give aid to individuals at times, but church buys them. We don’t give people money on Amazon. We give groceries and gas.
I’m sad for all the scam attempts. Peace has no control over these actions. All I can do is ask you to be careful and stay in contact with me. Then you’ll know the difference between the real and the fake.
Here are a couple of tips to watch out for social engineering:
Use Peace’s business email - church@peaceotsego.org or ntimmermann@peaceotsego.org - and business phone - 269-694-6104. Those are official means of contact that are regulated by official policies. Pastor and other representatives of Peace will use these to contact you.
Give offerings and gifts to Peace through our official and legal means - the offering plate, online at http://peaceotsego.org/give. Don’t give other ways.
Feel free to double check contacts with pastor any time.
Calendar
February 1st 9:30 am Service
February 1st 10:45 am Voters’ Meeting
February 2nd 6:30 pm Christianity Explored https://www.christianityexplored.us/courses/christianity-explored/ is
February 3rd 6:30 pm Team and Task Time
February 5th 6:30 pm Bible study
February 7th 9:30 am Evangelism workshop
February 8th Bake sale
February 12th 12:00 pm Senior lunch
February 20th 6:30 pm Bunco
July 14-17 Youth Rally
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Would you like to donate to Peace? Please use the link for online giving
Peace Lutheran Church 805 S Wilmott St Otsego, MI 49078
269-694-6104 https://peaceotsego.org