Birthdays This Week:​ Alisha Jamison, Tim Tian, Sira Kessler, Sally McLarty, Miriya Hottinger, Lilian Huang, Neil Hou, Alec Zhou

Anniversaries This Week: Henry & Linda Chavarria; Kenny Zhang & Amelie Zhang

Upcoming Events — Save the Date to Join Us!

• Service & Serves on Sunday, September 13th! Join us for our 5:00 PM worship service, where our 5th grade students will be sharing their musical gifts, and then stick around afterward for an evening of fun and fellowship on the backfield! Come out and join us with Pastor Manning & Deaconess Manning! Get to know them! ●  Pickleball ● Music ● Lawn games ● Food & refreshments (bring a dish to share) ● Fellowship & fun for the whole family!
• Annual Harvest Festival — Saturday, October 17 — 4-8 PM — Music ● Food Vendors ● Retail Vendors ● Silent Auction ● Cake Walk ● Kids Activities ● Prizes — Free Admission — Bring the whole family!

LCMS Stewardship Ministry Newsletter Article – September 2026

Stewardship in the First Commandment  Originally published in September 2023

The greatest gift that Martin Luther gave to us was his Small Catechism. The word “enchiridion” is part of the original title of this work. This is the Greek word for “handbook.” The Small Catechism is a handbook of the Bible. All the basic knowledge that a Christian needs to understand the faith and live a godly life has been taken from the Bible and distilled into this beautiful little book of Christian piety.

Luther starts with the Ten Commandments.

The First Commandment: You shall have no other gods.

What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. (SC I)

We have a God above us. He is the Lord God and we are not. He is Almighty and in control. He is righteous and good. And therefore, we should fear Him.

This God is also our heavenly Father. He wants us to be saved. He does not want us to suffer His just wrath. He has provided salvation for us in His Son, Jesus Christ. And therefore, we should love Him.

Our heavenly Father will never leave us nor forsake us. He has promised as much — and the Bible shows us that He always keeps His promises. So, we should trust Him.

In the Large Catechism, Luther explains how money and possessions form one of the greatest temptations against the First Commandment:

This I must unfold somewhat more plainly, that it may be understood and perceived by ordinary examples of the contrary. Many a one thinks that he has God and everything in abundance when he has money and possessions; he trusts in them and boasts of them with such firmness and assurance as to care for no one. Lo, such a man also has a god, Mammon by name, i.e., money and possessions, on which he sets all his heart, and which is also the most common idol on earth. He who has money and possessions feels secure, and is joyful and undismayed as though he were sitting in the midst of Paradise. On the other hand, he who has none doubts and is despondent, as though he knew of no God. For very few are to be found who are of good cheer, and who neither mourn nor complain if they have not Mammon. This [care and desire for money] sticks and clings to our nature, even to the grave. (LC I 5–9)

These words of Dr. Luther should call us to repentance; sometimes, we live and act like we don’t have a Father in heaven. We seek our comfort and peace outside of His gracious promises. But we do have a Father in heaven. He does love us. All His promises are true. And the Lord will surely provide. If that is our belief, then our outward lives will reflect this belief in our acts of generosity and mercy. We will see money and possessions not as gods but rather as tools for doing God’s work.

LCMS Family Ministry:“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

God has given us communities in our own families, in our church family and in other places as well. This verse reminds us of what a great blessing our church family is. In our culture, we often have Sunday morning as the only time that we see our church family. Our time together on Sunday morning is good and important, but we can also have a relationship with those in our church family beyond that time. Find ways with your family to build connections with other members of the congregation. You can talk to someone that you do not know well and encourage your children to do the same, or even invite them over for a shared meal.

Find family ministry memory cards at https://resources.lcms.org/general/catechism-memory-cards/. We hope that this resource will bless you and help your children learn Scripture and Luther’s Small Catechism.

LCMS Health Ministry: September is a month of transition for many people. School is back in session, the weather cools and schedules naturally change pace. Fall is also a great time to re-engage in physical activity and exercise – whether indoors or outdoors. It may seem unusual to hear the church talk about exercise, but LCMS Health Ministry exists to promote a Christ-centered approach to health. Yes, even physical health! The church cares about health — spiritual, mental, physical — because our Lord cares for us in every bodily need. We confess that God creates, redeems and sanctifies our whole person: body and soul, mind and spirit (Gal. 2:20). As such, we are given the task to steward our bodies as members of the larger body — Christ’s church (1 Corinthians 6:19–20; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27)! For more information on LCMS Health Ministry, visit https://lcms.org/health.

2026 Flower & Eternal Candle Calendar

Flowers: To donate and/or dedicate flowers for a birthday, anniversary, special even or person, choose a date, print your name clearly on that line, and then under “Dedication: list what or to whom you are dedicating the flower bouquet(s). There are 2 spots available for each week. It will be noted in the News & Notes for that week. You do NOT have to donate in order to dedicate, but it does help the church if you do. Donation for each bouquet is $20. Checks should be made out to Loving Savior and placed in the flower envelopes provided and placed in the offering plate.

Eternal Candle: To donate and-or dedicate the eternal candle in remember of a person(s), special occasion or event, choose a month, print your name clearly on the line, and then your “Dedication” for the month. It will be noted in the News & Notes for the entire month. You do NOT have to donate in order to dedicate, but it does help the church if you do. Donation for a full month is $20. Check should be made out to Loving Savior, placed in the eternal candle envelopes provided, and place in the offering plate.

News and Notes

Don’t forget to pick up your copy of this week’s News and Notes after service to keep up with all the events and prayer requests for the congregation.  Available free of charge in the church Narthex.

Daily Devotions

Portals of Prayer is a favorite of readers looking for ways to stay in God’s Word with easy, daily devotions. A great way to start each day, readings feature a Bible passage, meditation, and prayer in an easy-to-read format.  Both pocket size and large print editions are available in the narthex. Pick up yours today!
Pick up your FREE copy of the July-September 2026 edition today, and get one or two for friends or family.

The Lutheran Witness

The August issue of The Lutheran Witness explores topics related to digital life and the rise of artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence. It was nothing more than a sci-fi gimmick in an Isaac Asimov novel or a Terminator movie — until it wasn’t. Has there been a day in 2026 that AI hasn’t been in the news? Can you think of a single friend or family member who hasn’t at least tried using it? And how many among us, within just a few short years, have already come to rely on this rapidly advancing set of technologies to create our spreadsheets, book our travel, amuse us in our free time or even keep us company when we’re feeling lonely?

Yet as the Rev. Jonathan Conner points out in our August issue, citing Thomas Sowell, when it comes to technological advancements, “There are no solutions, only tradeoffs.” The same printing press that brought widespread literacy to Europe and turbo-charged the Lutheran Reformation also rendered the very idea of an oral tradition (and with it, the human mind’s capacity to memorize thousands of lines of epic verse by ear) practically obsolete. The same automobile that powered modern civilization and its many creature comforts also brought us air pollution, urban sprawl, fractured communities and all the myriad diseases brought on by a sedentary lifestyle.

As it was with the printing press and the automobile, it looks like there will be no turning back the clock on AI. “Whether or not the downsides outweigh the upsides,” tech professional and LCMS layman Nonso Mogor predicts, “AI is here to stay and will likely grow to play an even more prominent role in society.”

What does this mean for us as Lutherans?

Features include:

• “What Is AI? Insight from an Industry Insider” by Nonso Mogor
• “Artificial Intelligence in the Church: A Call for Real Wisdom” by Jonathan Conner
• “Finding Lutheranism on the Internet” by Kendall Davis
• “Relating and Connecting in the Age of Chatbots” by William G. Fredstrom

Pick up a copy in the narthex today.

Lutherans Engage the World

There will always be a desire to have more workers in the church: more pastors to fill vacancies, more rostered teachers to serve in Lutheran schools, more missionaries to send around the globe. At the same time, we trust that the Lord provides.

The Summer 2026 issue of Lutherans Engage the World highlights a few of the ways that the Lord does just that, as He calls people into His service from secular careers, during times of transition and through formative experiences like time spent at a Lutheran camp. Sometimes, He also sends partners from other countries to join us in His mission. Thanks be to God that He uses all things — even imperfect people like us — to encourage His children and accomplish His purposes.

Articles include:

• Discerning God’s Call to Serve — Teachers and pastors have left secular careers to serve in Lutheran settings, where they can share God’s Word and care for His people.
• Community and Catechesis — At an LCMS mission congregation in Kaiserslautern, Germany, attendees find a welcoming community, delve deeply into theology, and sometimes discover a calling to church work.
• An Outdoor Oasis of Faith and Fellowship — Lakeview Ministries in Seymour, Ind., provides a place for children, teens and adults to build relationships and be refreshed in the Word of God.
• ‘The Most Wonderful Work in the World’ — Two LCMS alliance missionaries are serving in South Africa, where they are helping to prepare the next generation of pastors for service throughout Africa.

Pick up your copy in the narthex today.