Pastor Kory’s Page for Sun, Nov. 2, 2005

            What is a Christian saint? Are the saints limited just to Jesus’ disciples, or to Christians from long ago, or only to deceased Christians? Do you need to make extraordinary sacrifices, like leaving home and serving as an overseas missionary, to become a saint? 

            Biblically speaking, a saint is a “holy one” of God. The Greek term for saint, hagios, occurs more than 40 times in the New Testament, especially in St. Paul’s Epistles and the book of Revelation. It occurs as a general greeting at the beginning of several letters, such as in Philippians 1:1, “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.” In this instance, “saints” refers to all the Christians in the city of Philippi. They didn’t have to be “super Christians” or already be deceased to receive the title of “saint.” In Romans 1:7, Paul also writes, “To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” This passage likewise describes all the believers in Rome as saints. Additionally, it is God’s love and God’s call which make us His saints, His holy people – not our personal decision or devotion.

            This means that ALL who believe and are baptized in the Christian faith can rightly be described as saints in Christ! This also means that you are just as much of a saint as the faithful men and women whom we read about in the Bible and in the records of the early church. You are already a saint now in this life even as you look forward to experiencing the fullness of the resurrection life which Christ has won for you by His death and resurrection!

            As we think specifically, though, about prominent saints through the history of the church, how should we remember them? The early Lutherans wrote in the Augsburg Confession, “Our churches teach that the history of saints may be set before us so that we may follow the example of their faith and good works, according to our calling. … But the Scriptures to not teach that we are to call on the saints or to ask the saints for help.” (AC 21) In other words, it’s important for the saints in any age to learn church history and find inspiration from the lives of faithful men and women who have gone before us. 

However, praying to the saints is both unbiblical and unnecessary. The Augsburg Confession continues, “Scripture sets before us the one Christ as the Mediator, Atoning Sacrifice, High Priest, and Intercessor [1 Timothy 2:5-6]. He is to be prayed to. He has promised that He will hear our prayer [John 14:13]. This is the worship that He approves above all other worship, that He be called upon in all afflictions. ‘If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father’ (1 John 2:1).” As saints in Christ, we have full access to God’s throne of grace through Jesus. Like the saints from ages past, we turn to Jesus Himself with all our needs, sins, and intercessions. We can and should remember the saints, but we need not pray to them.

            The first pages of the Lutheran Service Book hymnal (xi-xiii) include a list of traditional Christian feast days, festivals, and the commemorations of other saints. These remembrances span from the Old Testament patriarchs to figures in the Lutheran Reformation and even in nineteenth century American Lutheranism. An introduction in the hymnal says, “In every case, the purpose of our remembrance is not that we honor these saints for their own sake, but as examples of those in whom the saving work of Jesus Christ has been made manifest to the glory of His holy name and to the praise of His grace and mercy” (LSB p. xii).

            If you’d like to learn more about these saints through the centuries, I recommend a book called Celebrating the Saints by William Weedon. Pastor Weedon includes a short devotional message related to each saint whom Lutherans commemorate in the church year.

            Lastly, I invite all of you saints in Christ to join us on Sun, Nov. 2 as we observe “All Saints Day” and remember saints both known to us and known only to the Lord, those who surround us today and those who have already joined the great cloud of witnesses (Heb. 12:1).

            Grace & Peace,

                        Pastor Kory Janneke

"Preparing for Sunday Mornings"

Pastor Kory's Page for October 2025

 Much of my workweek is directed toward preparing for Sunday morning. There’s a service to plan, a sermon to prepare, a Bible study to lead, and catechism class to teach or sometimes other meetings to participate in. All of this is a normal part of a pastor’s calling. However, preparing for Sunday morning isn’t just for pastors! How can church members prepare themselves for Sunday morning? Here are a few reflections:

Plan to be here – barring illness, plan to begin each week in the Lord’s house. We need our Lord Jesus as we face each week. We need His forgiveness for past sins and His help for our future faithfulness. The writer of Hebrews said plainly that believers should not neglect meeting together but that we are to keep gathering and encouraging one another (Heb. 10:25). In AD 303, a congregation of Christians in Abitinae in northern Africa were forbidden by Roman authorities from possessing copies of the Scriptures and from gathering for worship and Holy Communion. However, one of these Christians, a man named Emeritus in whose house the church met, responded to the interrogator, “We cannot live without Sunday.” In other words, he and the other members of their church were declaring that they would rather face martyrdom than give up meeting together to hear the Lord’s Word and receive His Sacrament! May God grant us to follow their example!

Read the Word – each week, we publish the Sunday Scripture readings in our Thursday church announcements. You can also find a complete schedule of the weekly readings on the Year at a Glance website: https://yaag.org or on the LCMS Website. Take a few minutes to read over the Scripture lessons ahead of time. Look for thematic connections between them. Jot down some questions you have about them or applications you might draw from them.

Pray – as you look ahead to Sunday, pray that the Holy Spirit would make you receptive to His Word. Pray for pastors and church leaders. Pray for church members and guests that their hearts, too, would be prepared to hear the Lord’s Word and receive His Sacrament. Pray that you might be able to encourage someone who needs it.

Review the service bulletin – after arriving at the church, skim over the order of service. Take a moment to read the words of a hymn or Psalm. You can also use some of the prayers found on the first page of your hymnal (listed as Prayers for Worship). Additionally, your hymnal includes several structured orders of prayer (p. 282 and following) and topical prayers (p. 305 and following) which you could use before the service begins.

Take it home – jot some notes during the sermon and review them after you go home. Take your bulletin with you and reread the Scripture lessons devotionally. Pray the words of one of the hymns. Familiarize yourself with something in the service that was new to you. Use the church prayer list (in the back of the bulletin) as part of your personal prayers at home.

Attending the Sunday service isn’t just one more chore or activity in a Christian’s week. It’s the heartbeat of it! Like the early Christians, we can learn to orient our week around Sunday morning when we gather with God’s people, receive Christ’s gifts, and respond to Him in prayer and song. 

On that note, I look forward to gathering with you on Sunday.

Grace & Peace,

                                    Pastor Kory Janneke

Pastor Kory wrote the following letter to introduce our 2025 church pictorial directory.

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:2-6)

Have you noticed the saying on the cover of our service bulletins, “Partners in the Gospel”? That phrase is drawn from the passage above, St. Paul’s opening words in his Epistle to the Philippian Christians. Paul gave thanks to the Lord for the ways that the early Christians in Philippi partnered with him in his apostolic ministry. This partnership took the form of tangible support for Paul’s work, such as funding and supplies needed for his missionary travels. 

As Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he was likely under house arrest in Rome. While there, Paul needed the Phillippians to partner with him in prayer, asking the Lord to deliver him and enable him to return to the churches in person. Churches like the one in Philippi also kept in touch with Paul during his imprisonments, sending him messengers, letters, and care packages. We also know from a reference in another letter (2 Cor. 8:1-5), that Christians in Philippi and the surrounding region partnered with Paul in gathering a relief offering for famine-afflicted Christians hundreds of miles away in Jerusalem. 

“Partners in the Gospel” is a good description for fellow members of a Christian congregation. We share a common partnership through Jesus Christ, who has gathered us together into His body, the church, to share in His blessings both now and eternally. The same Gospel which makes us Christians is also the message which we, in turn, seek to make known, wherever and with whomever we can. 

We also share a partnership in the Gospel not only by supporting the ministry of our local church, but also by sharing in and supporting the work of our Circuit (Little Rock North), District (Mid-South), and Synod (The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod). Like St. Paul, we give thanks for the opportunity to share in the church’s wider mission in places both nearby and faraway. 

Speaking of nearby, though, the word “partnership” also conveys our need for one another as members of St. Matthew Lutheran Church. I wouldn’t be able to carry out my pastoral ministry without your support and partnership in the Gospel. Additionally, it takes the work of many members to carry out all the work which needs to be done – volunteering, visiting, praying for and reaching out to one another and to our neighbors, baking and cooking, serving in congregational offices, caring for the church’s physical property, and much more.

Give thanks for all the ways in which Christ has made us partners together in the Gospel, and prayerfully consider how He might use you as a partner in the work of His church!

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Kory Janneke