20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. – Ephesians 3:20-21
To God be the glory! Look at what God has done among us! Look at how God has blessed Little Lambs! We did our best to plan and promote. We publicized and prayed. And God in his goodness sent us a director, led parents to find us and entrust us with their children. It was by his goodness and grace that we opened our doors in 2014. And as we felt our way through our first full year of operation in 2015 we learned a lot, we continued to reach out, and we prayed that God would continue to bless and grow our new ministry. We prayed that he would bless our efforts to reach out with the good news of Jesus to even more precious little lambs and their families. We knew there was need for childcare and Christian education in our communities and we had in mind that this ministry had promise, but who would have thought that in such a short time we would have been met with such success. Who would have thought that we would have been able to expand our facilities, fill nearly all our spots for the coming summer, find additional staff, and reduce the yearly amount that we would ask from our congregations by $10,000 per congregation. It’s amazing! What a blessing! Praise to the one who can do far more than we ask or imagine! We praise God for his power and the work that he has been doing through us!
What a wonderful and powerful and amazing God we have, but even the disciples – who saw him walk on water and calm the storm, who saw him heal the sick and change water into wine – had to be chastised for their lack of faith. We too occasionally limit our God and his power in our life. There were times in the past year that the most fervent supporter of Little Lambs probably had their doubts. But in his kindness and love our Savior speaks to us through his word, “O you of little faith!” The Savior God who calmed the storm with the sound of his voice, who fed the five thousand with his almighty power, he is with us. When you doubt or fear that our ministry efforts may not be worthwhile, or that your daughter won’t listen to your rebuke, or my neighbor will reject my invitation to worship, remember who stands with you in faith. When you waiver in your faith when the waves of life crash into you, when trouble hits your marriage, when illness strikes, when death sweeps away a loved one, remember that he is there. The one who has power over the wind and the waves, who has power over sin and death, he is with you. He stands with you in faith. He lifts you up and strengthens you through his word and Sacrament, and he is the one who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. Let us follow him in faith. Let us trust that God can do wonderful and amazing things for us and through us. And let us give him the glory, “to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations.” Above all may God remind us of his great love for us in Christ. The God who can do the impossible would do the impossible as he entered this world through the womb of a virgin. The almighty God took on flesh and became one of us. He resisted every temptation. He endured the pains of this world and the pains of the cross and then took and conquered death to give us life. To him be glory in Christ Jesus and may we pass this amazing message of salvation from one generation to the next.
What a thrill it has been to be a part of this ministry at Little Lambs. To see this mission take off and grow as it has is a wonderful reminder of God’s power at work among us. We thank those who used their talents and gifts; our faithful director, the members of the governing board, the pastors and the volunteers. We are so grateful for those who invest their time and energy to serve as instruments of God’s power and grace. We give thanks for those who have supported this work financially and with their prayers. But of course, the glory and the praise belongs first and foremost to our God. He is the one who gives us our gifts, our intelligent to plan and the abilities to carry out these plans. And he is the one who blesses our plans as he sees fit. He is the one who possesses that wonderful power to do even more than we ask or imagine. He is the one who took on flesh to save us and give us the peace that transcends understanding and the joys of heaven that extend far beyond what we can ask or even imagine. May God bless us at St. Matthew’s and at Little Lambs as we carry out our mission of sharing this good news of everlasting joy and life through Jesus.
In Christ,
Pastor Mike Kuschel
January 31, 2015
Annual reports are available in the back of church. May the Lord continue to bless the gospel ministry being carried out at St. Matthew’s.