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September 2026

Dear Friends,

One of the courses that we are offering this Fall is on the Acts of the Apostles. This book of the Bible is always inspiring and its emphasis on the mission of the church in its earliest days is a necessary study on how we are to continue to approach the world even in our own time. Although the book is titled as it is, it might just as well have been titled The Continuing Work of Jesus the Christ. It’s actually volume 2 of the Gospel of Luke and reflects the promise of Jesus that he would continue to be with His followers and work mightily in and through them. Witness Acts 3:1-16:

Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;  Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God: And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. (Acts 3:1-16 KJV)

We need to understand the same Jesus is with us and we are called to witness of Him to the world in the same power, by the same Holy Spirit. The world our God loves is in need of that witness even now and we, like the apostles and all early Christians, are the ones empowered to do that work. Please join us for Acts class Monday evenings at 7:00 Eastern as we study how richly God blessed His church in its early days and see how through His Word He continues to do so. May the Lord bless us all as we endeavor to bring the light of His gospel to all people everywhere. We thank you for Your support as we continue to do the work God has entrusted to us to train witnesses of His saving work. May God bless you and yours. You are always in our prayers.

God’s Peace,
Jay Weidner

DONATIONS RECEIVED....

In memory of Reuben & Anita Aho
From Jimmy & Barb Maunu
Joyce Tibbs

In memory of Loren Bergstedt
From Gladys Bergstedt

In memory of Nancy Jarvi
From Faye Kemppainen

In memory of Stewart Lee
From Joyce Tibbs

In memory of William & Kathleen Forsman
From Pastor Ernest Bylkas III, Joy & family

FALL CLASSES BEING OFFERED

The Fall semester’s Monday night class will be on the Acts of the Apostles which begins on September 14, 2026, at 7PM. It is a 15-week course that is available in person at 916 Pine Street, Hancock or online using Zoom. If possible, we ask for a $50 donation to attend the class. The Acts of the Apostles is the historical account of the rise of the Church according to Luke examined in the light of its doctrinal and theological contents.

The following daily classes begin on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.

Christian Dogmatics II: A continuation of Christian Dogmatics I focusing on lectures, readings and discussion of various Christian Doctrines.

Eschatology: An analysis of the last things focusing on the debate surrounding current views of the subject and what the Scripture says regarding this controversial topic.

Gospel of Mark: An in-depth analysis of the most concise Gospel with an emphasis on sound and segmentation.

Genesis: A study of the origin, thought and doctrinal content of the book of Genesis.

Churches, Sects & Isms: The study and discussion of the teachings and practices of the most prevalent Christian denominations, sectarian groups and others.

Evangelism: A study of the principles and methods of Christian outreach in one’s own church and community, including home visitation.

Daniel: An introduction to the genre of apocalyptic literature including the various interpretations of the book today.

If you are interested in taking a class, please contact the office at 906-482-3337 or email cilseminary@ilseminary.com. Also, for a complete class schedule go to www.ilseminary.org/class schedule.htm.

We hope you can join us!!


ATTENTION: SUPPORTERS
THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT THE SEMINARY.


CHOICE DOLLARS DETAILS: Eligible clients with membership can recommend where Thrivent distributes some of its charitable grant funds. These recommendations are shared by directing Choice Dollars to enrolled nonprofit organizations, including churches.

Eligibility requirements: To be eligible to direct Choice Dollars as part of Thrivent Choice®, you must be a client with benefit membership. Individual eligibility is also based on at least one of the following:
• Having $750 or more in annual billed premiums of qualifying life and health insurance products.
• Having $20,000 or more in contract value of qualifying life insurance and annuity products.
Eligibility is determined monthly and reevaluated on an annual basis.
Minimum and maximum Choice Dollars designations: Eligible clients will be designated a minimum of 25 Choice Dollars and a maximum of 5,000 Choice Dollars per eligibility period (Jan. 1 to Dec. 31).
Choice Dollars expiration date: Choice Dollars designated during the calendar year can be directed until March 31 of the following year.

For more information about Choice Dollars, visit http://www.Thrivent.com/thriventchoice or call 800-847-4836 or contact your local Thrivent Financial representative.

THRIVENT CHARITABLE IMPACT & INVESTINGTM

The Inter-Lutheran Seminary has established an Endowment Fund through Thrivent Charitable Impact & InvestingTM (formerly InFaith Community Foundation). All earnings of the endowment will be used for the seminary’s needs thereby ensuring the continued existence of this funding source. This is the preferred method used by many non-profit entities, especially ongoing religiously focused organizations such as seminaries. To learn more about this organization, go to www.thriventcharitable.com.

We would love to grow our endowment into a major source of ongoing seminary support. Although the seminary still needs the financial ongoing regular contributions of our supporters, please consider the endowment fund for your planned giving needs. For more additional information, please contact Kirk Otto, Jr. at (715) 821-8574 or Cheryl Hendrickson at
(906) 482-3337.

ANOTHER OPTION FOR GIVING – PayPal
Online giving is as easy as clicking the DONATE button on our website: https://ilseminary.org. Simply go to the How to Contribute tab and tap the yellow DONATE button to begin. There are options for credit and debit card donations and even the option to help the seminary cover the PayPal processing fee. (Note we are charged 1.99% + $.49/transaction fee). As always, we are thankful for your continued support!


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Inter-Lutheran Theological Seminary
James Weidner, President
P.O. Box 449
Hancock, MI 49930

administrator@ilseminary.org
Phone: 906-482-3337