Bethel Lutheran Church
Fifth Sunday of Easter – May 18, 2025
Bethel Lutheran Church
P.O. Box 20, 502 South Ash - Sutherland, Iowa 51058-0901
712-446-3630 Church Answering Machine
Email: bethel@midlands.net
Website: blcsuth.360unite.com
Rev. David Matthews Jr.
Phone # (417) 318-1021
Email: revmatthews@pm.me
Pastor’s Office Hours Mon-Thurs 8:30am-12:00pm 1:30pm-5:00pm
Bethel Church Secretary—Bridget Sickelka (712) 363-4926
Lutheran Family Service Counseling 712-276-9000
Holy Communion 1st, 3rd, & 5th Sundays of the Month
Worship Hours
9:15 Sunday morning Bible Study
9:15 Sunday School
10:30 Worship Service
We welcome all of our worshipers this morning. We pray that the Holy Spirit will bless this time with an increase of faith in Jesus and love for one another. Please join us again in worship and fellowship.
Our Worship We follow Divine Service Setting on page 184.
Hymns of Praise to the Lord: 848, 700, 633, 672, 628, and 706.
Our Response to God’s Love:
With our attendance last Sunday: 45
Offerings to the Lord: Loose $270, General $930, Mission $153, Care Pkgs $25, and IDW $50.00, Total $1,428.
Our adopted mission project for 2025 is $2,400 ($200 per month) for Noah’s Ark Daycare in Sutherland. They have need to help with their budget due to the renovations of the new location and inspection fees. The second Sunday of the month we take an offering for this mission project.
With our prayers for the sick and hurting: Roman Fulkerson, Sara Sickelka, Janie Ebel, Ron Waggoner, Marilyn Fiddelke, Elaine Waggoner, Delmar Sickelka, and Brian Hohbach.
Hospitalizations: Please call Rev. David Matthews Jr. if you or someone from the congregation is in the hospital.
June 1st – Church Service will go to our Summer Time of 9:30 am.
This will go through Labor Day.
There will be no Sunday Morning Bible Study or “Bible & Bacon” Men’s Bible Study – these will resume after Labor Day
Donation Opportunities: As member’s of Bethel Congregation, we have a couple opportunities to donate to a couple worthy causes.
Camp Okoboji: The IDW Board motioned in there last meeting to invite congregations to consider a “special donation” to help assist with restorations at Camp Okoboji as the results from the 2024 floods. The camp took on a considerable amount of damage from the flood that needs to be fixed and restored.
Camp Okoboji holds many different camps for all ages throughout the summer. They also have family retreats for families to enjoy time together and in Christ, a couple times during the summer. Besides youth camps, it also offers Sunday worship services with local Pastor’s conducting the services and monthly brunches. Many of the youth from our congregation have attended these camps in the past.
Our church council has decided for the next few Sundays, starting today, in the back of the church will be a basket for those that would like to donate to the restorations. Pastor will take the donations with him to Spirit Lake on Sunday, June 8th church service for the IDW Convention.
Lutheran Family Services: The Lutheran Family Service is a Christ-centered ministry that gives hope to people through support services in areas that include Unplanned pregnancy support, Adoption Services, Mental Health Counseling, Marriage Counseling, and Outreach programs to couples, youth, elderly, and congregations.
This spring, LFS is responding to the needs expressed by more LCMS pastors and churches to increase the ministry of counseling, support, and love to the communities. LFS is holding a Grow & Go challenge for churches to honor their pastors.
In Psalm 85, the psalmist gives us a promise of growth and renewal. “Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.” What a joy it is to know how good our God is – and that His good gifts are with us!
You love your pastor, and so do we! Today, we invite you to join us in a fun way to show your support for him, as you partner with LFS to grow our network of care to your neighbors.
We will present your pastor with a gift card for a night out when at least 10 members from your church set up between May 1 and June 30, and each make a gift of at least $10 to support those in need who are served by LFS.
Be one of 10 from your congregation to join us in this important extension of Christ-centered mission and ministry through LFS. Make your gift today, as together we trust in the promise of our God, as the Psalmist concludes, “Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.”
There will be a basket in the back of the church with envelopes in the basket. Please put your name on the envelope and put your donation in the envelope and seal it. At the end of June, I will send in all the envelopes to Lutheran Family Service in one big envelope from our church.
You would be “killing two birds with one stone”. One you would be helping the LFS with their services and Two you would be helping Pastor receive a night out with Rachel.
Food Bank of Iowa Mobile Food Pantry: First Presbyterian Church in Paullina will be hosting another Food Bank of Iowa Mobile Food Pantry on June 5th, 2025. There are many people in O’Brien country who are sometimes short of food, so we would appreciate your help in notifying individuals and families in your area who could use some extra food. If you would like to donate any non-perishable items, please delivery them to the church.
Food Bank of Iowa Mobile Food Pantry
First Presbyterian Church, Paullina, Iowa
Corner of Main and Groesbeck
Thursday, June 5th, 2025
4:00 – 6:00 PM
Please use the front door
If members of your congregation would like to volunteer to help at the church on the day of the food pantry, please call John Funkhouser at 816-984-0580 to register.
Starting next Sunday May 25th, in the back of the church there will a retirement card for Pastor Turner, for those to sign who would like to leave him a short message. Pastor Matthews will take this along with him to the IDW Convention on June 9th during the special presentation that will be held in honor of Pastor Turner.
Church Media: Looking for those that are interested in learning and helping to run the music computer and live-streaming I-Pad and forming a “Worship Team” to fill in on the Sundays when secretary is gone. Please see Bridget so that she can show you how. It is very easy to learn and simple to run
Communion Statement Here at Bethel Lutheran Church, with our church body, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS), practice closed communion. That means that since we believe that in the Lord's Supper, we receive the Lord's True Body and His True Blood, we reserve the supper for those who have been baptized, and are also confirmed members of the LCMS. If you are currently not a confirmed member of the LCMS, we welcome you to participate by coming forward during the distribution with your arms crossed over your chest, and receive a blessing. If this is your first time communing with us, or you believe you should be able to receive the Lord's Supper here, please speak with the pastor or one of the elders beforehand.