Newsletter Newsletter Archive for downloading
January 2026
Dear Friends,
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He
that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16 And of his
fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.1
In October of 2025 I had the pleasure of assisting in the ordination of Pastor
Scott Seppala at Eastwood Apostolic Lutheran Church in Negaunee MI. The text I
chose for that occasion appears above. Since that time this passage has been
persistently on my mind. While preparing that message I was amazed at John’s
usage of the Greek root word translated as full and fullness. John tells us that
Jesus, the only begotten Son of the Father, is full of grace and truth. There is
nothing surprising about that statement as the balance of the Gospel bears
witness to it. Jesus spends His earthly sojourn demonstrating God’s grace to
humanity and that He is the true, real God. We are made to witness by John’s
testimony that God has become flesh and has done so to purchase our redemption.
Jesus goes to the cross to shed His blood to save us by forgiving all our sin,
taking away the sin of the world. That was His mission and He fulfilled it
entirely so showing God’s grace to the world. This is remarkable but expected as
the Gospel unfolds. The statement that is particularly shocking though is that
found in verse 16; “And of His fulness have we all received, and grace for
grace.” Jesus is full of grace and truth and of that fullness all of us have
received. All of us have received grace and truth from His fulness. We have not
received it partially but fully, of His fulness. God has withheld nothing of His
fulness from us, he gave us all in Christ. Still John follows that up by telling
us this grace goes on and on. This is grace for grace that is inexhaustible. The
Greek preposition used here means “in the place of,” and in this usage gives the
idea of grace in the place of grace in an endless stream. As we need God’s
grace, we don’t exhaust it at all, the application of grace to us is done again
and again into eternity. God’s grace goes on forever and comes from the fulness
given us in Jesus. It is there whenever we need it and we need it all the time.
The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin 1 John 1:7. It is in
this grace that we begin a new year. God’s mercies to us are new every day.
Thank you for supporting us in years past and kindly doing the same in this new
year. A Blessed and Happy New Year to all of you in the fulness of His grace!
God’s Peace,
Jay Weidner
DONATIONS RECEIVED...
In memory of the Seminary Founders
Dr. & Mrs. Uuras Saarnivaara
Rev. & Mrs. Kenneth Hendrickson
Dr. Albert Saari
From Janis Saari
In memory of Adam Ostapenko
From Joan Ostapenko
In memory of Joyce Magner
From Joan Ostapenko
In memory of Pastor Elmer & Ruth Liimatta
From John Sullivan
In memory of Jed Hammond
From Ken & Jackie Kangas
In memory of Donald Bielinksi
From Pamela Bielinski
In memory of Gary Worrall
From Barbara Worrall
In memory of Kathleen Forsman
From Pastor Chuck Bylkas, Joy & family
In memory of Ernest Bylkas, Jr.
From Pastor Chuck Bylkas, Joy & family
THANKS TO YOU, the matching funds program was a huge success.
We are pleased to report that donations received reached $25,000 and will now be
matched by a generous donor. May God bless your generosity and continued
support!
THRIVENT CHOICE DOLLARS PROGRAM IN 2025
THANK YOU to those who made contributions through Thrivent Financial Choice
Dollars Program. The seminary received $2,078 in the calendar year 2025. For
more information about Choice Dollars, visit http://www.Thrivent.com/thriventchoice
or call 800-847-4836 or contact your local Thrivent Financial representative.
SPRING 2026 SEMESTER CLASSES
See our website for complete class schedule: https://ilseminary.org/classchedule.htm
History of the Ancient Church (3 credits) – A historical analysis of the major
people and events that shaped the Christian Church from the Apostolic Age to 600
AD.
Christian Dogmatics I (3 credits) – Lectures, readings and discussion of various
Christian Doctrines including an in-depth look at the prolegomena for doing any
study of systematic theology.
Old Testament Introduction (3 credits) – An introductory study of the origin,
authorship, purpose and reliability of the Old Testament writings with special
attention devoted to their literary design and individual and corporate unity.
Pastoral Work & Administration (3 credits) – A thorough study and discussion of
pastoral theology and its application in the office of the ministry.
1st & 2nd Thessalonians (2 credits) – The study of St. Paul’s view of the
eschaton recorded in the Thessalonian correspondence reflecting the teaching of
Jesus and other New Testament Literature.
Greek Readings III (1 credit) – More in depth texts from the Greek New Testament
and Septuagint to be read and translated to enhance the skill of interpreting
the Bible from the Greek Scriptures.
Gospel of Luke-Monday night class (2 credits) – An in-depth analysis of the
Third Gospel with an emphasis on sound and segmentation. This course is
available in person or on Zoom.
If you are interested in attending, please email cilseminary@ilseminary.com or
call 906-482-3337.
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!
**PLEASE NOTE**
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the mailing list, please complete the form below and mail to: P.O. Box 449,
Hancock, MI 49930.
Or call 906-482-3337 or email: cilseminary@ilseminary.com. Thank you!
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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
FAX: 906-482-0694