Dear saints of the Lord Jesus, 

Just what sort of guy is Jesus? Even the wind and the waves do what He says! That was the question of the disciples in the boat. It’s a question that gets to the heart of the Christian faith and our life and witness. Just who exactly is Jesus? What sort of guy is He? What’s He all about? C.S. Lewis said that Jesus was one of three things: Because He spoke as if He is truly God, Jesus is either a liar, or a lunatic, or He’s the real deal Lord. What He is not is what many people call him, “a good teacher” or “important man of wisdom” or something like that. In the Epiphany season, Jesus is showing us Who He is: the divine, eternal Son of God, yet in the flesh. He is the same Lord who commanded the fish to swallow Jonah and later spit Him out, as a picture of His own burial and resurrection. Jesus is the one Who created the wind and the waves and so He is the One who can silence them. Even when His disciples—even when you and I—are “ye of little faith.” That’s the Good News for this Fourth Week after the Epiphany: even when we are those of “little faith,” Jesus is still Jesus, still the Son of God, still our Savior, still calming storms, still saving us, despite us. That’s just the sort of man that He is! 

PERSONAL MEDICAL UPDATE
My surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, February 8. I anticipate being out for about two weeks. In the meantime, there’s a whole bunch of Pre-Op stuff I have to do as well. I appreciate your prayers and your patience as my schedule is a bit wonky with all this medical stuff. If you know of anyone who needs pastoral care, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I will do my best to make sure I can be available at least until I’m in my recovery for a couple of weeks. 

PRAYERS FOR PETER POLLACK
Please pray that Peter continues to improve enough to be accepted by the transplant team. You can continue to send cards and letters of encouragement to him and Robin here:
Lutheran General Hospital MICU
Attn: Peter Pollack, Room 12
1775 Dempster Street
Park Ridge, IL 60068
 

MASKS IN WORSHIP
We are currently wearing our masks during worship. At this time there is no restriction on capacity or seating arrangements. Please consider the well-being of your neighbor most especially by staying home if you have any symptoms of illness. As always, you can get in touch with me to request a visit if you can’t be in church. Thank you for your patience and understanding and love of neighbor in all of this!

LIVE STREAM INFORMATION
You can watch live and find recorded services at the links below: 
We stream live on our FACEBOOK PAGE HERE. 
Our videos are also live and recorded on YOUTUBE HERE. 

The answer to the question, “Who is Jesus?” is super important. It’s our faith and life! He’s true God who can make the wind and waves obey Him. He’s true man who can suffer and die on the cross. He’s our Savior! What sort of man is He? The sort that welcomes us to His family and church and gives us all kinds of life-giving gifts. See you in the Divine Service! 

In Christ,
Pastor Buetow

 Baptism of Myles and Gavin


Crazy Hair & Chapel DAY!