More on Palm Sunday

Posted by Pastor David Tinker in Announcements and tagged with Holy Week, love your neighbor, Lutheran World Relief, Martin Luther Lutheran Church, Palm Sunday, Palm Sunday 2015, procession of Palms, quilting, quilts, Sunday of the Passion, worship March 26, 2015

We are looking forward to a joyful Palm Sunday 2015. There is always much to do to get ready for this special event. This is the beginning of Holy Week – click here for our schedule.

Some things of note regarding worship this weekend:

1. We will dedicate the quilts for Lutheran World Relief. See the photo above which was taken right after our quilts were placed for this dedication. Photo Credit: Melissa Wickel.

2. We invite children to participate in the Procession of Palms on Sunday. We gather in the Narthex for this joyful celebration of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Plan now to participate.

3. We will have worship on both Saturday night at 6:00 p.m., and on Sunday at 9:00 a.m., on Palm Sunday weekend.

Palm Sunday 2015

Posted by Pastor David Tinker in Announcements and tagged with First Holy Communion, Holy Week, Lutheran World Relief, Maundy Thursday, Palm Sunday, Palm Sunday 2015, quilts, worship March 24, 2015

Palm Sunday 2015 is this weekend. We will have worship on both Saturday night at 6 p.m. and Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. Plan your weekend around making sure you are at worship this week for the beginning of Holy Week.

At both services we will do the following things:

*Remember the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. We will wave palm branches as they did nearly 2000 years ago. We will give thanks to God for the fulfillment of his prophecy about the coming Messiah and eternal King of Israel.

*We will begin our Holy Week observance. Click here for the full schedule.

*We will dedicate the Lutheran World Relief quilts and kits. See the photo above for an image of what we did last year at this time.

You are invited to make this the beginning of a very special week as we relive and experience the joys and sorrows of this most important week in human history.

Christmas Eve Was Wonderful

Posted by Pastor David Tinker in Youth and tagged with Candlelight Service, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Gospel, John, Lutheran Youth Organization, LYO, Martin Luther Lutheran Church, worship, youth December 24, 2014

A large crowd gathered to sing, pray, hear God’s Word, and to enjoy the annual Lutheran Youth Organization (LYO) Christmas Play. It was truly a beautiful night as these dedicated young people presented the message of Christmas for all to hear.

Remember, we gather for Holy Communion on Christmas Morning at 10:00 a.m. We invite you to gather with God’s people on this very holy festival day.

Candle Lighting and the Gospel of the Incarnation

As part of the MLLC Tradition we have the annual Candlelight Service and reading of the Gospel of the Incarnation from John, chapter 1, verses 1-14.

Here is the text of that important message about Jesus, who he is, and what he has done for the world.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. ⁹The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

¹⁰He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. ¹¹He came to what

was his own, and his own people did not accept him. ¹²But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, ¹³who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

The youth presented their play: “Christmas Eve Live”

Here are some photos of the youth, and an adult or two, who were in the play. Thank you to Mia Williams for directing the play this year. Thank you to all the youth and adults who made this wonderful production happen.

Worship with Us on Thanksgiving Eve

Posted by Pastor David Tinker in Announcements and tagged with eucharist, Holy Communion, service, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, worship November 19, 2014

Our Annual Tradition is to gather as a community for worship and Holy Communion on the Wednesday evening before our national Thanksgiving Day.

We invite you to celebrate with us the goodness of our God. We invite you to rejoice with us in his merciful grace. We invite you to make worship with the community of faith a priority as you enter into this holiday.

Wednesday, November 26 at 7:00 p.m.

Martin Luther Lutheran Church

211 Luther Ln; P O BOX 362

Carmine TX 78932-0362

Our Thanksgiving Banner

Our Communion and Thanksgiving Meal Banner

The title we sometimes use for this sacred meal is “the Eucharist”. This word refers to the “giving thanks” which is done as we gather with Christ and his people for this Sacrament.

Firemen’s Feast Worship

Posted by Pastor David Tinker in Announcements, Pastor's Ponderings and tagged with Carmine Volunteer Fire Department, faith, Holy Communion, worship July 20, 2014

It is a busy day in Carmine, Texas. Today, July 20, is the annual “Firemen’s Feast”. This is the annual fundraising meal for the Carmine Volunteer Fire Department. At MLLC we give thanks to God for the caring work of these community servants.

The work of cooking the fried chicken for the meal begins early on Sunday morning. Dozens of cooks gather at the Carmine Fire Station for this work. Since this event is on Sunday morning we offer the opportunity for the cooks to gather for God’s Word and Holy Communion. We bring the Church to the Fire Station each year at an early morning time. The cooks are already busy as the worship space is set up between the fire equipment and the food preparation area. For about 10 minutes the cooks take a break for prayer, to give thanks, to hear the Word of God, and to be assured of God’s love and forgiveness in Holy Communion. This year 50 men and boys paused their work to be a part of this special worship service.

We are thankful for the service of the Carmine Volunteer Fire Department. We are thankful for the opportunity to support their work and to encourage them in their faith in Christ.

Here are some additional photos from this special event:

Pentecost is this Sunday – Wear Red

Posted by Pastor David Tinker in Announcements and tagged with 2nd Chapter of Acts, Acts 2, Fire, Holy Spirit, Pentecost, tongues of fire, wear red, wind, worship June 5, 2014

The Day of Pentecost

This Sunday, June 8, is the Day of Pentecost. This is one of the three main Festival Days of the Church Year. The others are The Resurrection of our Lord (Easter Sunday), and the Nativity of our Lord (Christmas Day). You are encouraged to wear Red to help celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

On Pentecost we celebrate the giving and pouring out of the Holy Spirit of God on his people. This took place first in Jerusalem when thousands of Jews were gathered in the city for the Jewish Festival of Pentecost. It is also known as Shavuot. This Jewish festival celebrates two major items. One is to celebrate the grain harvest at that time of year in the Holy Land. The other reason of the celebration is to give thanks for the giving of the Covenant at Mt. Sinai, including the Ten Commandments. It is understood that it took 50 days for the Children of Israel to travel to Mt. Sinai after the Passover and their release from slavery in Egypt.

The Holy Spirit was given to the Church on that day. The 120 Christians were then sent out to proclaim the might works of God to the gathered Jews. These visitors were from all over the Mediterranean world, and spoke a number of languages. The small band of Christians were given the supernatural ability to speak the Word of God with boldness so all would hear of the great things God had done through Jesus Christ.

The response was powerful. That day 3000 people responded to the Good News and became Christians. There were 3000 baptisms that day. Read about these events in the Book of Acts, chapter 2, in the New Testament.

We look forward to seeing you at worship this Sunday. Worship at 9:00 a.m. Remember to wear something red this Sunday.

More about these late Spring festivals.