A Savior is Born...to be the True Son
 Christmas holidays mean family time. Extended family travel and visits. Meals are prepared, gifts given, memories are made. The memories might not all be good. Sometimes, Christmas dinners end in fights. Sometimes, hurt feelings keep family from coming together during the holidays. The painful reality is that we sinners fail our families, and our families fail us.
God knows what that’s like. He, too, wanted his children to be everything he hoped for them to be. But he was sorely disappointed. That’s why he made a plan. God the Father sent Jesus to be the son that he always wanted—reciprocal in love, perfect in obedience, unwavering in devotion. Jesus came to be everything that God wanted from us.
By coming to be the true Son of the Father, Jesus gives us rights to be redeemed sons and daughters—sons just like Jesus with the rights, the relationship, and the privileges of heirs.
Among those privileges is the right to come into God's presence and to be blessed through his Word and Sacraments with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Join us tomorrow at 3:30 pm for a special New Year's Eve service with holy communion (our guest preacher will be Seminarian Joshua Frailing). Then let's gather again on the first Sunday after Christmas, January 1, at 9:30 am, to continue our Christmas celebration together!
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Prayer Requests
Please keep the following in your prayers:
- Jerry and Nina Glaze, as they mourn the loss of their grandson who was called home to heaven this week.
- Dean and Gertie Wink, who celebrated 69 years of marriage on December 26.
- Pastor Dan Lewig, as he deliberates the divine call to serve as Associate Pastor for Youth and Outreach at Riverview.
- Brian Werth, who continues to wait for a kidney transplant
- Jeff Theimer, who is home recovering from a heart attack suffered on December 15.
Holiday & Sunday Worship Times
Below is our worship schedule for this weekend. There will be no Sunday Bible Study or Sunday School on January 1. There will be no Monday Bible Study or Bible Basics Class on January 2.
- New Year's Eve Worship with Holy Communion - December 31 - 3:30 pm
- 1st Sunday after Christmas - January 1 - 9:30 am
- 1st Sunday after Epiphany - January 8 - 8:00 & 10:30 am (Bible Study & Sunday School resume)
Divine Call Extended
On December 12, a divine call was extended to Pastor Dan Lewig to serve as Associate Pastor at Riverview. Please keep him, his current ministry, and his family in your prayers, as he determines where best to use his gifts to serve our Savior. Those who wish to reach out to him may contact him by email at danlewig@yahoo.com.
Office Hours & Sunday Scrip Sales
Classes resume at Riverview Lutheran School on Wednesday, January 4. During the break, office hours are Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm. Someone may be in the office at other times, but please call first. If you need pastoral assistance and no one is in the office, contact Pastor Wagner at 920-757-4535.
There will be no scrip sales on Sunday, January 1. Beginning January 8, stop in the office between services, if you would like to pick up or order scrip gift cards.
Congregational Meeting
Our next regular congregational meeting will be on Sunday, January 29, at 11:45 am. All members are encouraged to attend to hear mid-year updates on our ministry and review plans and goals for the upcoming quarter.
Christian Family Solutions Sunday
On Sunday, January 15, Pastor James Mattek of Christian Family Solutions will be our guest preacher and Bible study leader. He will share more about the healing and helping ministries of Christian Family Solutions, which include Christian counseling, in-home care services, and senior living solutions. Make plans to be here for this special Sunday. To learn more about Christian Family Solutions, please visit www.ChristianFamilySolutions.org. Our January door offering will support the ministry of Christian Family Solutions.
Miss Arndt - 40th Ministry Anniversary
On Sunday, February 12, we will celebrate God's blessings upon 40 years in the teaching ministry for Miss Barb Arndt. Watch for more details in the coming weeks.
College & Military Addresses Needed
Riverview would like to remember our college students and those serving in the military with care packages this Christmas and other encouragement throughout the year. If you or your child fall into one of those categories, please contact the church office with your contact info (school/branch, address, phone, email) or complete this form as soon as possible! Thank you!
Worship Links
Fox Valley Lutheran High School Notes
- Do you enjoy baking? Consider making and donating homemade desserts (pies, cakes, tortes, candy) for Musicfest on February 5 Musicfest. Event proceeds benefit the FVL Music Program. Go to fvlhs.org/musicfest for details and to sign up.
- FVL Grads who were a part of the band program, please consider joining us for a special alumni band performance at Musicfest on Sunday, 2/5. Details and registration are at fvlhs.org/musicfest and registration deadline is 1/10.
- Registration is open for boys in grades 7-8 for baseball (registration closes 12/31). Go to fvlhs.org/youth-sports for details and to register.
- FVL is accepting applications for a part-time custodian and a maternity-leave substitute teacher. Go to fvlhs.org/about/employment for details.
- Information for the 2023 season for Lutheran Vanguard of Wisconsin (LVW), a WELS high school marching band, has been posted to its website. The season will begin with a rehearsal camp on Jan. 7-8 to be held at FVL. LVW is open to all WELS members in grades 8-12. The summer schedule, cost, registration procedures, and more can be found on the JOIN page. Go to lutheranvanguard.org or contact the LVW Executive Director James Neujahr at jneujahr@fvlhs.org.
- Transfer students can enroll for Semester 2 at FVL. Contact the Admissions Office at admissions@fvlhs.org or 920-560-5105 for details.
- FVL CHRISTMAS BREAK School & SCRIP Office Hours: Thurs., 12/22 – Wed., 1/4 – All Offices Closed (including Guidance) Thurs., 1/5 – Regular School & SCRIP Office hours resume
- Whether retirement is less than 5 years or more than 25 years from today, you have this special opportunity to hear from experts and get questions answered. Join us for the Retirement Planning seminar at FVL on Thursday, 1/19 at 6 PM. Go to fvlhs.org/seminar to register and get information.
Area WELS News
- COMMISSIONING SERVICE: Please join us for Pastor Joel Hoff's Commissioning Service on Saturday, January 21. The service will be held at 11AM at Trinity Lutheran Church (407 Oak Street, Neenah). There will be a sendoff lunch and fellowship following the service. The Hoffs will begin their ministry in Africa at the end of January.
- The Wisconsin Herd are excited to be hosting our annual WELS Night on Saturday, January 28, 2023! There will be some in-game promotions to celebrate WELS and we wanted to invite you out to enjoy the game together. All congregations are invited to take a photo together on court after the game to commemorate the experience together. For tickets, visit https://fevo.me/welsherd.
- TBRI® 101 Course Especially for Adoptive and Foster Parents Coming Soon! This course offers an informal, yet thorough approach to Trust-Based Relational Intervention®, an evidence-based intervention for children from hard places of abuse, neglect, and/or trauma. Videos will be shown to guide the viewer through the principles and strategies of TBRI® and offer practical tips for implementation. Topics include Understanding Trauma, TBRI® Empowering, Connecting, and Correcting Principles, as well as real-life examples and testimonials from caregivers and professionals who use TBRI®. Through the blessing of a grant from the Antioch II Foundation, the WELS ministry Light for Parents is able to present this course to a group of parents in the Fox Cities area. The course will be presented on three consecutive Saturday mornings--February 4, 11, and 18, 2023--from 9 a.m. - Noon at Eternal Love Lutheran Church, 1011 E. Midway Road, Appleton, WI 54915. The course will be presented from a Christian perspective by an adoptive couple trained as trauma practitioners, one of whom is also a TBRI® Practitioner. The course is free, but participants are asked to register by emailing staff@LightforParents.com with the names of those who will be attending.
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