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January 2020
Dear Friends,
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he
that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are
come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was
troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief
priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ
should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is
written by the prophet, 6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the
least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that
shall rule my people Israel. 7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise
men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them
to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when
ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9
When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw
in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child
was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And
when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his
mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their
treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12
And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they
departed into their own country another way.” Matthew 2:1-12
The visitation of the wise men, recorded here in the Gospel of Matthew has been
historically celebrated in the Christian Church on January 6th as the Festival
of the Epiphany. It marks the first time that Jesus Christ was made known to the
Gentiles. What a marvelous journey that must have been for the wise men! God
miraculously led them to the Christ-Child with the help of a star that moved
before them in the sky. The season of Epiphany is marked by the theme of
manifestation. In Christ, God makes Himself known not just to the nation of
Israel, but to all people. While God may not lead us by a star today, He does
lead us by the miracle of His Word. God’s Word is truly miraculous in that it
has the power to work repentance and to kindle faith in the hearts of men. Just
as the star did for the wise men, the Word of God leads us to Christ. For in
Christ alone can we find forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Because of His
great love for us, God “…hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption
through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins…” Colossians 1:13-14
As we begin the New Year, may God grant us grace to hearken unto His Word, so
that we might hear, believe and live.
“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon
thee. 2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the
people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon
thee. 3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of
thy rising. Isaiah 60:1-3
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Chuck Bylkas
DONATIONS RECEIVED...
In memory of Irene Ruohonen
from Paul & Lorraine Tomasi
In memory of Edwin Puumala
from Luella J. Puumala
In memory of Dr. Robert Nominelli
from Raymond & Marlene Hilman
Paul Renne
In memory of Ross Wolfe
from Raymond & Marlene Hilman
In memory of Arnold Sunnarborg
from Jim & Mary Carol Behrends
In memory of David Johnson
from Leland D. Bendix
In memory of Jane Miller
from Leland D. Bendix
In memory of Adam Ostapenko
from Joan & Nick Ostapenko
In memory of Joyce Magner
from Joan & Nick Ostapenko
THANK YOU for supporting the Inter-Lutheran Seminary by making your Amazon
purchases through AmazonSmile on behalf of seminary. $693.32 was donated to the
seminary during 2019.
Have you ever have used Amazon.com to do your shopping? Now AmazonSmile offers
the same products, same prices and same service and will also donate 0.5% of the
price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Inter-Lutheran Theological
Seminary whenever you shop on AmazonSmile.
Simply log use in by using this link….
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which will bring you directly to smile.amazon.com in support of our
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2020 Spring Semester Classes - Begin January 20, 2020
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.
Science & Christianity (2 credits) – A study of the relationships and
differences in the methodology and epistemology of modern science and the
Christian Faith.
Pastoral Epistles (1 credit ) – An investigation of the thought and doctrinal
content of these epistles to answer questions concerning their Pauline
authorship with an exegetical study of the books.
Genesis (2 credits) – A study of the origin, thought and doctinal content of the
book of Genesis.
General Epistles & Hebrews (2 credits) – A study of the content of each of the
letters emphasizing the uniqueness of thought in their respective authors.
See Academic Information - Class Schedule for dates and times.
ATTENTION: SUPPORTERS
THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT THE SEMINARY.
Have you ever have used Amazon.com to do your shopping? Now AmazonSmile offers
the same products, same prices and same service and will also donate 0.5% of the
price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Inter-Lutheran Theological
Seminary whenever you shop on AmazonSmile.
Simply log use in by using this link….
http://smile.amazon.com/ch/41-0918317
which will bring you directly to smile.amazon.com in support of our
organization.
The Thrivent Choice® program offers a way members can recommend where Thrivent
Financial distributes some of its charitable outreach funds. As a benefit
member, your ownership of Thrivent Financial products and services help make
this support possible.
Remember….If you are an eligible member 16 and older you can recommend how to
distribute Thrivent Financial charitable grant funds thought Choice Dollars®.
Member eligibility and the Choice Dollars designated are based on:
• Holding a Thrivent Financial volunteer leadership position; or
• Having $750 or more in annual premiums of qualifying
insurance products; or
• Having $20,000 or more in contract value of qualifying products.
For more information about Choice Dollars, visit http://www.Thrivent.com/thriventchoice
or call 800-847-4836 or contact your local Thrivent Financial representative.
INFAITH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION:
Several years ago, the Seminary board of directors established the
Inter-Lutheran Seminary Endowment Fund. Funds contributed to the endowment are
not used for current day to day operations. Only the annual 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.
While this is an excellent strategy, it has proven a challenge for us to
actually meet the minimum funding requirements. Until now, the fund has existed
but remained unfunded. By the Lord’s grace we have been blessed with a large
contribution to fund the Inter-Lutheran Seminary Endowment Fund. We would love
to build on this generous contribution 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. The seminary has chosen the InFaith Community Endowment Fund (the renamed
Lutheran Brotherhood Foundation) to administer our endowment fund. They will
provide experienced legal advice to help guide you with any contribution
questions done through estate planning in addition to lump sum contributions,
IRAs, property and securities. For more additional information, please contact
Kirk Otto, Jr. at (715) 294-4343 or Cheryl Hendrickson at (906)482-3337.
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