Pastor Kory’s Page

Invitations and Gifts

Sunday, September 27, 2026

Invitation #1:  On October 4, 2026, we will have a Fall Feast & Fellowship Sunday at St. Matthew. Not only do I want to invite all our church members and frequent visitors to join us that morning, but I’d also like for you to consider who you might invite to come along with you. Whether it’s a friend, family member, neighbor, or classmate, please prayerfully consider who you might invite to join you that day.

In our 10:00am service on October 4th, we’ll be celebrating God’s gift of Holy Baptism for one of the newest additions in our church family. However, the rest of the service will be a bit simpler than a typical Sunday Divine Service. The service will not include Holy Communion and will be more oriented to our guests and visitors. Following the service, we’ll share in a potluck meal and grill-out. Grilled hot dogs and hamburgers will be provided. Church members have signed up to contribute a variety of sides and fixings. It should be a great time, and I look forward to seeing you there!

Invitation #2:  Beginning on Sunday, October 18 at 6:00pm, I’ll be offering an Adult Instruction Class at St. Matthew. This class will explore the core beliefs of the Lutheran Church using Martin Luther’s Small Catechism as our guide. We’ll discuss our teaching about Scripture, Baptism, good works, and more. This instruction class can be a pathway to church membership for adults who might like to be confirmed in the Lutheran church. Additionally, college students are welcome to attend and learn more about our Lutheran beliefs. Church members who’d like a “refresher course” are also invited to participate.

I’ll be offering this class in-person in the church fellowship hall but will also offer the option of participating live on Zoom Meeting or viewing a recording afterward if you miss a night. If you are interested, please sign up in the church entryway or contact me with any questions. 

Gift #1:  What are some basic “gifts” you can give to guests and visitors who come to our church? One gift begins right when people arrive – a place to park. If you are able-bodied, please consider parking on the east side of St. Matthew’s parking lot or at the medical offices at the corner of Prince St. and Farris Rd. This keeps more parking near the church entrance open for guests and attendees with limited mobility.

Gift #2:  The gift of a place to sit. Consider sitting near the middle of a row to allow seating to fill in on the ends of the row around you. Also, if you ever see someone in need of a place to sit, be willing to adjust or slide down to help accommodate them.

Gift #3:  The gift of a warm welcome. Whenever you see guests at church, offer them a warm greeting! Make a point to introduce yourself and ask for their names. When you see them again after the service or the next Sunday, call them by name and welcome them back. Let our visitors know you are glad to see them, be willing to address questions they may have, and invite them to join us again.

I hope you’ll take these invitations to heart and also consider how you might share simple gifts like these with visitors to our church!

Peace in Christ,

            Pastor Kory Janneke

Note: This Pastor’s Page is adapted from my Aug 16, 2026 sermon for Rev. Dr. Leroy Leach’s installation as St. Matthew's Assistant Pastor. The sermon text was 2 Corinthians 5:14-21.

Our Lord Jesus spoke of the serious task of the Holy Ministry both to His Apostles (in the Gospels) and throughthose same Apostles (in the rest of the New Testament). One of those passages is 2 Corinthians chapter 5. How does St. Paul characterize the work of ministry? He calls it “the ministry of reconciliation.” He writes in 2 Cor. 5:18-19, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”

This type of reconciliation is about much more than people trying to get along or sweep their differences under the rug. As far as it depends upon us, the Lord does expect us to live peaceably with others (Romans 12:18), but there’s much more to this “ministry of reconciliation” than just putting up with others or attempting to “reconcile” our differences maybe even by excusing our own sin or the sins of others.

First of all, 2 Corinthians 5 is about what the Lord has done for us! Without Christ Jesus, there is no reconciliation. Apart from our Savior, there is only alienation and separation from God. That’s the stark reality of our sin. The wages of our sin is death and eternal separation from the Lord.

As pastors, we are called to proclaim God’s Law and the harsh reality that He has pronounced about our sinful condition. But this message of the Law (with the damning nature of our sin, and the separation from God that our sin causes) also prepares us to hear the Gospel as truly Good News from the Lord, like this Gospel statement from St. Paul in 2 Cor. 5:18, “Through Christ [God] reconciled us to Himself!”

Don’t take those words for granted as you read them! Don’t take that message for granted as we pastors teach and preach it each week!  Instead, remember where you’ve come from. … In just one chapter of the Bible, Ephesians chapter 2, Paul uses all of these descriptions of our natural sinful condition: dead in your trespasses and sins; by nature, children of wrath; separated from Christ; alienated from God’s people; strangers to His promises; having no hope and without God; and being far off from Him. Finally, though, Paul preaches Good News for us in Eph. 2:13-14, “But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For Himself is our peace.”  

Through Christ, God has reconciled you to Himself! And Paul says the work of Christ and His cross went even further: “That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (2 Cor. 5:19). This is the very Good News that our Lord Jesus gave Himself for every human soul. Because of this, we ought to regard every single person accordingly,  as a precious soul whom Christ has died to redeem!

But still, this Good News needs to be shared and heard and believed. The blessings of Christ’s cross must be applied to us individually through Holy Baptism. Christ’s plan for making people His new creations is that they be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt, 28:19), having their sins washed away, and receiving His promised Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). And then, having been brought near and reconciled to God in Christ, we need to continue hearing the powerful Word of God, for faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ (Rom. 10:17).

And all of this points to the necessity of the Holy Ministry. God provides pastors for His people, that we might be baptized into Christ, continue growing in His Holy Word, and be fed with Christ’s Body and Blood. Pastors are called to publicly preach and teach God’s Word and administer His Sacraments, that we would know and believe that it is by God’s grace, through faith in Christ alone, that we are saved. 

God Himself is the Reconciler, but He carries out this ministry through His people, through pastors, teaching and preaching the saving Gospel of Christ crucified and risen to make us His new creations, and through Christian lay people, as your words and lives bring the peace of Christ to those in need of it. 

Again, St. Paul tells us in 2 Cor. 5:19-20, how God is “entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

As we go forward, receive Pastor Leach, like any faithful pastor, as the Ambassador for Christ that he is. An ambassador doesn’t just speak on His own behalf. He speaks for the One who sent him. This is what Paul means when he says God is making His appeal through us. When you hear your pastor proclaim God’s Word of Law and Gospel for you and pronounce forgiveness for your sins, the Lord Himself is addressing you through His minister.  

When Pastor Leach appeals to you to heed God’s Word, to live a life that is reconciled to God through faith in His Son, listen and take it to heart. And when he teaches you to let God’s reconciliation filter down into your relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ, listen up to that as well! You and I have been made new in Christ: made new to live a faithful life, which receives and honors God’s Word, and a life that both shares and practices Christ’s reconciliation with those around us.

So, thank you, Pastor Leach, for accepting the Call to serve as St. Matthew’s Assistant Pastor  and for faithfully making known to us the Good News that, in Christ, God has reconciled us to Himself!

Peace in Christ,

            Pastor Kory Janneke

Earlier this month, St. Matthew’s new stained-glass window was installed. This window has been a long time in coming! Its predecessor was much beloved but was buckling and needed to be replaced. (Thankfully, the old window was removed intact and is being restored by Soos Glass for future use elsewhere in our facility.) Prior to his death, former member Scott Sparks was working on finding a stained-glass artisan who could help us with the project. Later, Scott Roper took up the project and designed the layout and elements of the window. Soos Glass of Maumelle eventually produced the new window.

Throughout church history, Christians have used a variety of symbols to depict biblical truth and to serve as visual reminders and teaching tools of what the Lord has done for us. In European churches, stained-glass windows long served as a visual tour of Scripture, depicting major biblical figures and scenes. Lutherans have historically embraced Christian artwork, provided that its content is consistent with God’s Word. Here is a summary of the symbols included in this new window:

The cross – at the exact center of the window is the cross. Christ’s cross is the center of our Christian faith, for it was upon the cross that He sacrificed Himself for our sins and became our source of eternal salvation.

Communion bread and chalice – the central cross is set on the communion bread and suspended above the large, golden chalice. In, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, our Lord Jesus feeds us His body and blood for our forgiveness. The window overlooks the altar from which we receive the gifts of Christ’s body and blood.

Wheat and grapes – these are yet another symbol of Holy Communion and reflect the design of our prior window. The images of wheat and grapes can also symbolize the church: “For just as the one cup is filled with wine of many grapes and one bread made from countless grains, so also we, being many, are one body in Christ.” (LSB p. 291)

Blue background – as the window overlooks the baptismal font, its beautiful blue background reminds us of the waters of Holy Baptism. There, “by the washing of water with the word,” Christ cleansed us and made us His holy people (Ephesians 5:26).

Dove – at Jesus’ Baptism, God the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove and rested on Him (Matthew 3:16). That same Spirit of God is His gift to us in our Baptism (Acts 2:38). Every day, we live this Christian life through the strength and presence of the Holy Spirit.  

The combined Greek letters, Chi-Rho – at the top of the window is a Christian symbol that resembles the English letters X and P. These are the Greek letters Chi (X) and Rho (P). Together, these letters are an abbreviated form of Christos, or “Christ.” This ancient monogram dates back to the early church. It is Christ, our Messiah, who makes all the difference for you and me, for “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

The Greek letters, Alpha and Omega – on the left and right sides of the window are two additional Greek characters, Alpha and Omega. These letters point to God the Father (Revelation 1:8), completing the Trinitarian symbolism of the window. They likewise point to Jesus who announces, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13). Christ alone begins, accomplishes, and finishes our salvation through His life, death, resurrection, and return.

Grace and Faith – last but not least, near the bottom of the window are two words which are foundational for our Christian faith: “Grace” and “Faith.” It is by God’s grace alone through faith in Christ alone that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8). This is the Gospel message which we continue to share and proclaim, not only within these walls but in our everyday lives and relationships. May this vibrant new window continue to remind all of us of these truths of God’s Word for many years to come!

Peace in Christ,

            Pastor Kory Janneke