This Past Sunday at St. Thomas—Second-Last Sunday of the Church Year
Believers of St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church,
This past Sunday was...
+ The Second-Last Sunday +
Join us this Sunday for the Divine Service at 9:00am and Family Catechesis at 10:30am
RESOURCES FOR HOUSEHOLD PRAYERS THIS WEEK
Our Around the Word Devotions and Family Catechesis Sheet are always available during Family Catechesis. Digital copies of these as well as more notes from Family Catechesis can be found by clicking here!
The Readings for this past Sunday: Daniel 7:9-14; 2 Peter 3:3-14; Matthew 25:31-46
Our Hymn of the Day for this past Sunday: The Day Is Surely Drawing Near, LSB 508
Render to God the things of God
“Behold, with the clouds of heaven there came One like a Son of Man” (Dan. 7:13). The Lord Jesus will return in glory on the Last Day with all His holy angels. “Before Him will be gathered all the nations . . . And He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left” (Matt. 25:31–33). Those on His left will be cast into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For they rejected Christ by failing to receive and support His brethren, that is, the preachers of the Gospel. But those on His right will inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. For they received and supported His brethren and believed what they preached. We believe in the promise of Christ’s coming, even it is delayed because of His longsuffering mercy. Conducting ourselves in godliness, knowing that this fallen creation will soon pass away, we look forward to “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).
Prayer for the Second-Last Sunday of the Church Year
O Lord God, heavenly Father, Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, bids us feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit the sick, and in this way show our neighbors charity and loyalty. Yet, dear Father, You know how cold, reluctant, and lazy, alas, our hearts naturally are toward all such things, and how fiercely the wicked devil hinders charity in us. Accordingly, we heartily beseech You that You would pardon and forgive us all that we have done contrary to this good and salutary command, and govern us by Your Holy Spirit, that we may increase daily in brotherly love, and continue steadfast in it until the end, and at last with all the saints enter into the kingdom of eternal joy and salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
STEWARDSHIP THOUGHTS | From LCMS Stewardship Ministry
2 Peter 3:11 — “Since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?”Christians see the world differently. Everything the world prizes—status, possessions, comfort, wealth—will one day be dissolved. Knowing this doesn’t make us indifferent; it makes us watchful. What endures is not the world’s glory but Christ’s promise. Therefore, we use our time, our abilities, and our money in ways that confess what will last. We begin each week gathered around the Lord’s Word and Sacraments, receiving the gifts that prepare us for the Day that is coming. We give generously and with deliberate, first-fruits faith because our treasure is secure in Christ and not threatened by decay. We live in holy conduct and godliness because we belong to the new creation already breaking in through His Gospel. Our faith changes us and our actions. We don’t do anything as others do whose hope is in what will crumble.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
MILITARY CARE PACKAGE The Youth Education Committee is coordinating the collection of a care package for our military! A friend of Pastor Lacey’s is a chaplain in the Army, so we will be sending our contributions to him for distribution to soldiers currently stationed in the Middle East. If you’d like to contribute, please pick up a list of suggested items on the back table in the chapel. A particular request is cards. Our Beginning Catechesis students will be making cards to include in the package, but cards are welcome from anyone! Please bring your contributions to church by November 30. A collection bin will be in the back of the chapel each Sunday.
FIRST COMMUNION CLASS for preparation to receive the Rite of First Communion Prior to Confirmation will begin in January. If you’d like your child(ren) to participate, please see Pastor Lacey. Children will be expected to recite the Primary Texts that we recite before Catechesis each week as a “precursor” to the class.
PICTORIAL DIRECTORY Our very first pictorial directory is now available on the table at the back of the chapel! Thank you to everyone for submitting pictures and information so we can all put names with faces and get to know our St. Thomas family a little better!
NOVEMBER CALENDAR A fridge-worthy monthly calendar is available on the table at the back of the chapel – pick one up to keep up with this month’s events!
BREAKFAST FOR SALE The senior youth will be selling either breakfast tacos or kolaches each week in the narthex for $2 each to help raise funds for their annual Higher Things trip. Thank you for your continued support!
YOUTH NIGHTthis week is for the senior youth (ages 13-college). We will be meeting at the Winoske home on Thursday at 6:00 PM for supper, Bible study, and fellowship. See Lynea Sander or Pastor Lacey with any questions!
EVENTS
ADVENT GATHERINGS This Advent, St. Thomas will gather for Evening Prayer, potluck soups, and Family Catechesis in members’ homes each Thursday at 6:00 PM. Our theme is “The Time Is Near: Redeeming the Days Before Christ’s Advent” (Ephesians 5:15–16). Each week we’ll pray, sing, and study together as we prepare for the coming of our Lord. The gatherings will be held at the Winoske home in Tomball (Dec. 4), the Spannagel home in Conroe (Dec. 11), and the Arnold home in Magnolia (Dec. 18). A sign-up genius will be sent out from the church office soon to coordinate the soups and fixins, so please keep an eye out for that!
Blessings,
Pastor Lacey
For more about who we are and what we believe, visit the St. Thomas homepage.
