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< Back Confirmation Day 5: I Need the Word Of Grace Each Day Day 5, Lesson 1: Grace, Unmerited Love Objective Grace is the undeserved and unearned love and mercy of God towards sinners; Grace is the teacher and source of strength for the child of God Learning Outcome Give an example of how grace is unmerited love and mercy. Confirmation Exercise Questions None Reference Material Booklet Song: Here grace will teach you, you will find / That Jesus takes Your burdens; / His house is called the House of Bread, / He feeds the hungry pilgrims, / And in this kingdom on the earth, / God’s joyful children travel / To heaven’s home eternal. (SHZ 287 v.9) ​ Booklet Text: “For by Grace are ye saved through faith.” (Eph. 2:8) Additional Reference Material SCRIPTURE Tit. 2:11-13; Eph. 2:8; John 1:14–17; Rom. 3:21-26; Rom. 4:16; 1 Cor. 1:3; 15:10; Eph. 2:5-7; Eph. 3:8; 2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 2:11, 12; Tit. 3:1-8; Gal. 2:21; Col. 3:16; 4:6; Heb. 4:16; 2 Pet. 3:18; ​ CURRICULUM None ​ ADDITIONAL LESSON POINTS Grace cannot be earned Grace is the love of God The grace of God is also the power in the endeavor of faith RESOURCES​ VZ: Bible Concepts: Grace, The Love of God, A. Hirvonen, Nov. 1993, p 12; Time of Visitation, Time of Grace, Time of Death, K. Paavo, Aug. 1987, page 4; The Effect of God’s Grace, E.Lepisto, Nov. 1981, Page 174; By Grace Alone, A. Paananen, Apr. 2016, page 2; Previous Next

< Back Confirmation Day 8: Wrap-Up Day 8, Lesson 1: Confirmation Review Objective Write a key thought for the theme and lessons each day. Learning Outcome Confirmation Exercise Questions Reference Material Additional Reference Material Previous Next

Sister Organizations Finland SRK (Suomen Rauhanyhdistysten Keskusyhdistys) The LLC works closely with its sister organization, the SRK, with central offices in Oulu, Finland. Mutual work includes minister exchanges, language courses, Opisto folk school student exchange program, written and music publications, and foreign mission work. Sweden SFC (Sveriges Fridsföreningars Centralorganisation) ​ The LLC works closely with its sister organization, the SFC, in Sweden. Mutual work includes minister exchanges and foreign mission work. Africa The LLC serves sister congregations in the countries of Togo and Ghana, West Africa with several mission trips annually conducted jointly with the SRK. Trips include, for example, worship services, Sunday School lessons, and confirmation camps. The Laestadian Lutheran congregations in Togo are members of the national organization, ELLT. Ecuador The LLC serves members in six locations of Ecuador with regularly scheduled mission trips. Trips include, for example, worship services, Sunday School lessons, and confirmation camps.

The Kingdom of Heaven ​TREASURE HIDDEN IN A FIELD "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth,and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." Matt. 13:44 ​ ​THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN There is no subject which was more prevalent in Jesus' preaching than the kingdom of heaven, that is, the kingdom of God. It was the most common subject of His parables and was the theme of His preaching.(1) In fact, Jesus said that the first thing that a man should search for in life is God's kingdom and His righteousness.(2) ​ It is important to find God's righteousness, for He has declared man's righteousness, or our very best deeds, impure and unacceptable in His sight.(3)The righteousness which is acceptable before God is found in His kingdom. ​ Jesus was once asked to explain when the kingdom of God would come. In His reply, He reveals two essential points: first, the kingdom of God is not visible to the human eye, and, second, it is present in the midst of men.(4) ​ ​A HIDDEN KINGDOM It might seem impossible to find a kingdom that cannot be seen, but with God's help it can be found. Jesus said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matt. 7:7). In the parable at the top of the page, Jesus shows us that while the kingdom is hidden, it can indeed be found. ​ The parable illustrates why the kingdom of God cannot be seen. It is like treasure buried in the dust and dirt of a field, hidden from man's sight. It is certainly an apt picture. In this world God's kingdom is hidden beneath the flaws and faults of believing people, people whom God has made from the dust of the earth.(5) ​ ​A GREAT TREASURE The parable also illustrates what happens when a man finds God's kingdom. He hides its treasure, sells all that he has, and buys it. Simply said, God's kingdom becomes the most important matter in his life. He wants, above all else, to protect and preserve his new-found treasure and follow the people of God and the Lord Jesus.(6) ​ Like the man in the parable, we have found the kingdom of God and obtained its treasure. We now carry this treasure in our sin-corrupt bodies. We wish to share it with you. ​ ​YOU CAN HAVE THIS TREASURE What we can offer you is God's forgiveness in Jesus Christ. This forgiveness is the very essence of the gospel and the essence of God's kingdom. Martin Luther said: "Forgiveness of sins is nothing more than two words in which the whole kingdom of Christ consists...This word of consolation shall not cease among Christians until the last day: 'Thy sins are forgiven, be of good cheer.' Such language a Christian always uses and openly declares the forgiveness of sins."(7) ​ Luther was right. This word of consolation has not ceased. God's children live of it and use it constantly. We declare it to any sinner who longs for God's forgiveness. ​ We can give you this treasure because Jesus has given us the power to forgive men their sins. He said that what we forgive on earth is also forgiven in heaven, that is, it is forgiven before God.(8) Belief in this gospel of forgiveness obtains what it promises, namely, God's forgiveness and the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the righteousness that is acceptable to God. You can have it too. ​ ​END NOTES 1 "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:14­15) "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." (Matt. 9:35) ​ "Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick." (Luk 9:1, 2) ​ 2 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33 ) ​ 3 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isa. 64:6) ​ "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." (Rom. 3:10­12) ​ 4 "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20, 21) ​ 5 "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (2 Cor. 4:7 ) 6 "And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost." (1 Thess. 1:6) ​ 7 Luther, Martin, "Sermon for the 19th Sunday after Trinity" in Luther's Church Postil, Vol.V, trans. John Nicholas Lenker (Minneapolis: Lutherans In All Lands Co. : 1905) 201, 202, 209 ​ 8 "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." (John 20:21­23) ​ "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matt. 18:18) ​ "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." (2 Cor. 5:18­20)

Lethbridge Laestadian Lutheran Church Contacts Pastor Hannu Janhunen Phone: 403-327-7795 Email: hannu@netisus.ca Chairman Matthew Ylioja Phone: 403-332-2035 Service Schedule June–August Sunday Service 11:00 a.m. September–May Sunday School 10:00 a.m. Sunday Service 11:00 a.m. Communion Service 1st Sunday Monthly Evening Service 3rd Sunday 7:00 p.m. Friday Bible Class 7:30 p.m. Song Services 1st Friday

Our Organization The Laestadian Lutheran Church (LLC) is a nonprofit corporation organized exclusively for religious purposes and is qualified as an exempt organization under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. ​ The LLC is the central organization of 32 member Laestadian Lutheran congregations in North America. The operations of the LLC are structured around four main areas of work in serving its membership and promoting its mission (see “Our Mission”). If you have any questions, please Contact Us. The areas of work are defined as follows: ​ Pastoral Work Sacred Acts, pastor support, spiritual counseling, resource to member congregations. ​ Mission Work Domestic and foreign mission trip coordination, supportive resources and media resource development. ​ Christian Education Different programs that teach, instruct and guide both the youth and elderly of our congregation. These include Sunday school, Bible study, confirmation, youth camp programs; educational resources; camp facilities; Opisto scholarship program. Sunday School Teachers Resources A collection of resources designed to assist in instructing Sunday school lessons. ​ Opisto Scholarship Program The LLC has joined with it's sister organization, the SRK, to provide 14 annual scholarships for students to attend one of three schools in Finland. ​ ​ Publications The LLC publishes a variety of publications to support the work of the LLC in furtherance of its Mission Statement, nurturing lives of faith and preaching the message of salvation through the redemption work of Jesus Christ. Publications include periodicals, books and music and audio products. Publications are developed under the auspices of the Publications Department and the Publications Committee. Many products are translations in mutual work with the SRK in Finland. PERIODICALS The Voice of Zion, a monthly paper with devotional and event articles. The Shepherds Voice, a children's magazine published seven times per year. Christmas in Zion, an annual Christmas magazine. Easter Messenger, an annual Easter magazine. BOOKS Books include devotional, historical and novel writings for all ages. MUSIC AND AUDIO Congregational singing, children's singing, and choir recordings based on music from the church's hymnal, Songs & Hymns of Zion, both teach as well as provide enjoyable listening. ‍ MOBILE HYMNAL The LLC-published Songs and Hymns of Zion contains all the songs in the current Songs and Hymns of Zion. PURCHASE/RENEW SUBSCRIPTIONS Contact Ruth DeLacey at rdelacey@llchurch.org with any questions about your subscriptions or if you wish to receive our periodicals. ​ VOICE OF ZION ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ADS To place birth, engagement or wedding announcements in The Voice of Zion, please fill out the forms below. ​ Birth ​ Engagement ​ Wedding ​ Death ​ To place ads or other announcements in The Voice of Zion, please fill out the form below. ​ Place an Ad Please note, only ads for non-profit organizations can be placed in this publication. C ontact Annette Johnson at ajohnson@llchurch.org with questions. CHANGE OF ADDRESS If you have a change of address, telephone number, email address, or other contact information for LLC subscriptions, communications, or the LLC Telephone and Address Directory, please complete the following form. ​ Change of Address ​ SRK PUBLICATIONS The LLC carries a variety of publications, both written and audio, produced by the SRK in Finland. These publications are not available online but may be purchased through congregation bookstores or the LLC office directly. Contact the LLC office to check availability or to place special orders. ​ ​ General Operations support the noted areas of work in finance, technology, and administration. ​ Board of Trustees The LLC Board of Trustees consists of 15 members representing member congregations allocated to three regions of the North American continent – Eastern, Midwestern, and Western. Trustees serve for three-year terms and are elected annually at the Annual Meeting. The Board of Trustees meets regularly five times throughout the year. ​ Board Committees A Board Committee structure closely involves trustees in the work of the LLC and provides direction and support to staff. Each committee is comprised of at least three trustees, along with staff/directors associated with the committee’s areas of responsibility. Board Committees currently are as follows: Personnel, Finance, Christian Education, Mission Work, Pastoral Work, Publications. ​ LLC Staff The LLC employs both full- and part-time personnel in areas of pastoral support, mission work, Christian education, publications, and administration. Staff works closely with the Board of Trustees and coordinates and relies upon the service of numerous volunteers in carrying out its duties and responsibilities. ​ Other Boards and Committees The LLC Board of Trustees appoints boards of directors to oversee operations of each of the LLC camp facilities: Hasscib Lake Camp, Champion, Michigan Kamp Kipa, Prescott, Arizona Stony Lake Camp, Park Rapids, Minnesota ​ Other Committees include: Mission Committees for each of three North American regions Scholarship Selection Committee to support the Opisto Scholarship Program Music Committee, a subcommittee of the Publications Committee Humanitarian Aid Committee If you have any questions, please Contact Us

Privacy Policy Laestadian Lutheran Church takes seriously the privacy of those that visit our web site. We have established this Privacy Policy to communicate what information we collect and how that information is used and safeguarded. ​ By accessing this website (www.llchurch.org ), you acknowledge the terms and conditions expressed herein. We reserve the right to change this policy at our sole discretion and without notice. ​ WHAT INFORMATION IS COLLECTED, AND WHY? When a user visits our website, we collect information about the visit that does not identify the user personally. We track information such as the domain from which the user is visiting and the user's browser type. We also collect specific information regarding the user's session on our website. This includes items such as the date and time of the visit and the pages viewed. ​ Sometimes we ask a user to voluntarily provide personally identifiable information (PII). This information generally includes, but is not limited to, name, e-mail address, postal address, and telephone number. We request this information when the user requests one of the following: ​ To register to attend an on-line seminar or demonstration To receive specific information from us such as a whitepaper or code sample To sign up for a mailing list To correspond with us Or any other such activity that we deem necessary Laestadian Lutheran Church does not collect any personally identifiable financial or health-related information. We do not intentionally collect information from children under the age of 13. ​ HOW IS THE INFORMATION USED? Non-personally identifiable information (non-PII) is collected to allow us to analyze how our website is used and to improve the content and service the website provides. ​ Personally identifiable information is collected for analysis to improve the content of the website and the services we provide the user. ​ Laestadian Lutheran Church owns the collected information and will not sell, trade, or rent the information to others. We may use the information to continue contact with the user. This may include contact such as follow-up calls, e-mail correspondence, or mail correspondence to follow-up on the contact or to provide marketing information about promotions, new services, or important website changes. Laestadian Lutheran Church may share this information with its business partners for the specific purpose of a promotion or service offering. ​ ARE "COOKIES" USED ON THE WEBSITE? "Cookies" are small pieces of information that are placed on a web user's hard drive. We may use cookies to provide you with better service. Cookies are pieces of information that a Web site transfers to your computer's hard disk for record-keeping purposes. Cookies can make the Web more useful by storing information about your preferences for a particular site. The use of cookies is an industry standard, and many major Web sites use them to provide useful features for their customers. Cookies in and of themselves do not personally identify users, although they do identify a user's computer. Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. If you prefer, you can set your browser to refuse cookies. However, you may not be able to take full advantage of the functionality of the Laestadian Lutheran Church site if you do so. ​ HOW IS PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION SAFEGUARDED? Laestadian Lutheran Church utilizes industry standard methods and mechanisms such as firewalls, intrusion monitoring, and passwords to protect electronic information. Multiple physical security methods such as locking devices and 24 hour premise monitoring are also employed. Finally, access to PII is limited to a small number of personnel and on a need-to-know basis. ​ LINKS TO OTHER WEB SITES Laestadian Lutheran Church web site may contain links to other internet web sites. Laestadian Lutheran Church neither controls nor endorses external sites and is not responsible for the content of such sites. This policy does not cover the privacy policies and data collection practices of non-Laestadian Lutheran Church web sites. ​ HOW TO OPT OUT OF CORRESPONDENCE Based on the information a user has provided, Laestadian Lutheran Church may send e-mail correspondence to the user. Each correspondence will contain an easy means to opt out of further correspondence.

Camp Planning Camp Directors, Teachers You have been asked to serve in some capacity at camp; thank you for serving! May God give you a willing mind and strength and wisdom to do that asked of you. Please access the information on this page for material to assist you in planning and in serving at camp! Camp Planning Documents Director Resources Your Staff Is Your Team This video by Eric Jurmu is a good resource as you consider selecting staff to serve with you at camp. Planning Lessons For Your Camp While the noted videos were intially developed for Sunday school teachers, they provide excellent background in planning lessons for your camp: Lesson Planning Videos

Wedding Announcement If you'd like to place a wedding announcement in The Voice of Zion, please fill out the form below. ​ Ads must be submitted by the 1st of the month preceding the month of publication. Cost: $17.00 Bride's First Name Bride's Last Name Groom's First Name Groom's Last Name Wedding Date Wedding Location Comments Submit Thank you!