Lutherans for Life

The Joke is on Me 
What does it mean to age with grace and dignity in a world that seems to value youth above all else? 

I wouldn’t trade this present reality for anything. 

Isn’t it funny how life has a way of sneaking up on us with a knowing grin? When I was a young woman, dreaming about the future was like painting a picture with bold, vibrant strokes, each one representing the energy and optimism of youth. I saw myself running after giggling grandkids, my body as spry as it ever was. Ah, the sweet naivety of it all! But here I am, a little wiser, a lot slower, and chuckling (and weeping) at the irony of it all. 

Life, it seems, had a different painting in mind for me—one with softer, more seasoned hues. And while my partially artificial knees might not keep me as steady as I would like these days, I find there’s a certain grace in this new version of myself. It’s like discovering a new chapter in a beloved book, one that’s filled with unexpected twists and turns. 

This journey into the later stages of life has given me the chance to reflect on my purpose, especially through the lens of my faith as a Christian. 

What does it mean to age with grace and dignity in a world that seems to value youth above all else? How can we continue to serve and love our families, even when our energy isn’t what it used to be? 

I think perhaps there’s a lesson there for all of us: that our purpose doesn’t diminish with age — it evolves. Join me in exploring how Scripture helps us to realize this evolution of ourselves. 

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). 

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14). 

What does the LORD wish us to do according to these verses? He wishes us to grow in Him (grace) by pressing forward (not living in the past) and realizing (growing in knowledge) that we are called to be sanctified (conformed to the image of His Son). 

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26). 

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23). 

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). 

Knowing spiritual growth is key here, what do these verses help us to realize? Spiritual growth comes from the knowledge that through God’s strength and promises, we have the way to guard our hearts and minds and be renewed daily. 

How is your heart growing? How are you growing? Does this ever stop? Reflective questions here, but the takeaway is that our growing in Christ never stops in this life. We daily repent of our sins, believing in Christ’s redemption and trusting in Him for our continued growth through sanctification. 

And in the midst of this reflection, I’ve realized something truly precious. My grandkids, with their boundless energy and endless curiosity, see me not as an older woman, but as their grandmother, their confidante, and their storyteller, especially regarding the greatest story ever told. I serve as a mentor in the faith for those precious young ones and their friends. And I do this not just for my own grandchildren but for other youth in my community as well. Those of us older folks who have not been blessed with children and/or grandchildren can serve as mentors in the faith for other youth. This creates a connection to others and gives us elders an opportunity to share the Gospel in ways that only the Lord can make happen. 

So, while the joke might be on me in terms of my youthful imaginings, I wouldn’t trade this present reality for anything. It’s a gift in itself, one that allows me to embrace life in all its beautiful imperfections. After all, isn’t that what makes the journey so wonderfully worthwhile? Peace be to you in Christ Jesus, my fellow aged ones in the Lord! 

Stamps for Missions

Stamps for Missions
Zion’s Women’s Ministry is collecting YOUR canceled and collectible stamps to support the mission work of LWML.

A collection box is located in the back of the sanctuary. Bring your stamps at any time and deposit them the box.

We collect:

• Envelope halves (tear the envelope) with the stamps attached

• Intact picture postcards

• All foreign stamps, large and small

• Stamp albums

• Collectible stamp sheets

• Commemorative U.S. Stamps

5 Things Jesus DID NOT Say

1. Follow your heart
   Jesus said, Follow Me

2. Be true to yourself
   Jesus said, Whoever wants to be my disciple, must deny himself

3. Believe in yourself
   Jesus said, Believe in Me

4. Live your Truth
   Jesus said, I am the Truth

5. As long as you are happy …
   Jesus said, What will it profit a man if he gains the world and loses his soul

Wednesday is Call Day 2025 at Concordia, St. Louis, MO

Assignment of Vicarages 3:00 p.m. (CDT) and Assignment of Calls 7:00 p.m. (CDT)
Call Day, an annual event, is the day when concluding students receive their first pastoral or diaconal ministry placements, and second-year students receive their vicarage or deaconess internship assignments. All calls and assignments for service are to churches or ministries within The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS).

Look for Zion’s own Charles “Chuck” Wallace at Wednesday’s event!
Read more about Charles on Zion’s Website:
LINK: From Your Seminarian: How We Are “Chosen for More” and
LINK: Thank You! ... from Zion’s own Charles Wallace

Join friends and family of the seminarians in-person in the chapel, via livestream, Facebook or YouTube.

Monday is Call Day 2025 at Concordia Ft. Wayne, IL

Call Day 2025 at Concordia Ft. Wayne, IL
Attend in person or watch online at ctsfw.edu/callday
Join us in Kramer Chapel for Call Day 2025 as we celebrate the placement of our students into their respective fields of service. On Monday, April 28, at 7:00 p.m., second-year students will receive their vicarage and deaconess internship assignments, marking an important step in their formation.

Look for Seminarian Sergiu Trifa who led Zion’s Bible study hour on March 9, 2025
Read more about Sergiu Trifa

Then on Tuesday, April 29, at 7:00 p.m., graduating pastoral ministry students will learn where they have been called to serve as pastors. Both services will be livestreamed on CTSFW’s Call Day service pages (see below), the Chapel page, on Youtube, and on our Facebook page. Following each service, a complete list of assignments and calls, along with photos of the students, will be available on the service streaming pages, accessible using the links below.

VIDEO: Sunday, April 27, 2025 - Complete Service

View the bulletin for Sunday, April 27, 2025
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Bulletins

AUDIO: Readings & Sermon for Sunday, April 27, 2025

View the bulletin for Sunday, April 27, 2025
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Bulletins

First Reading -- Acts 5:12–20 
Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. 

But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 

Second Reading -- Revelation 1:4–18 
John to the seven churches that are in Asia: 

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. 

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” 

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” 

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 

The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the twentieth chapter
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” 

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.