Dear friends and members of Big Canoe and Highland churches,

•             “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” That one-liner is the apostle Paul’s basic greeting that he placed at the beginning of each of his letters that form the bulk of the New Testament. All of Paul’s introductory greetings contain the words grace and peace. Paul also ended his letters by using these same words.
•             We hear and read this word grace a lot in the church. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ… be with you.” “Let’s ‘say grace’” (= “Let’s offer a prayer of thanks for the food we are about to eat”). “Amazing Grace” is among the most popular of Christian spiritual songs. (We’re singing it on Sunday!) Many of our hymns include this word grace as well. There are nearly 300 references to grace in our Lutheran hymnals. “Oh, how blessed is this place, filled with solace, light, and grace!” “That myriad tongues, in one great anthem blending, may praise and celebrate your gift of grace.” “Safe I anchor in God’s grace.” “Hail him who saves you by his grace.” “Oh, may this bounteous God… keep us in his grace, and guide us when perplexed…”
•             In the New Testament, there are more than 100 instances of the Greek word for grace (= “charis”). That Greek word isn’t always translated as “grace.” Sometimes it is better translated as “favor.” Luke tells us that the boy Jesus “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” This seems to be the sense that Paul used the word when he greeted his various congregations. Paul was saying to them (and to us): “May God’s favor rest upon you.” Or we might render the idea this way: “May God’s good will take place among you.”
•             Christians use this word grace so often, we hear it spoken or sung so often in the church, that the meaning of the word is not always appreciated. What is meant by this term grace?
•             When I was in Sunday school, I often heard my pastor define grace as “God’s Riches (for us) At Christ’s Expense.” That’s a good, basic definition. But this word has a lot more theological depth to it than many people realize. In some biblical places, this word emphasizes the possession of God’s favor as a source of blessing for the one who trusts God. In some other contexts the word charis (“grace”) implies the wealth of divine favor that is dispensed by God. In still other biblical passages, this word emphasizes our favored status with God because of what he has done for us in Christ, e.g., a gracious deed wrought by God in Christ, or a gracious work that grows from more to more. In every instance, God is given praise for all his benefits.
•             For example, Peter offers this gracious assurance to the recipients of one of his letters: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you” (1 Pet. 5.10). Paul has this to say about God’s grace as well: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—lest anyone boast” (Eph. 2.8). In this context, grace refers to God’s “gift of salvation.” Grace and gift go together. The promises of God for us in Christ rest on God’s grace. Faith or trust in Christ gives us access to God’s grace. We are pleasing to God when we trust that Christ Jesus has made us pleasing to God. God is always summoning us to trust that he is gracious to us for the sake of Jesus.
•             Interestingly, in some New Testament passages this same term also refers to our response to God’s gifts and God’s extravagant generosity. What are we called to do? Simply “to give thanks” to God, “to express our gratitude,” “to be grateful.” “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7.25).
•             See you in church!
•             Pastor Becker
•             3-27-2025
• Upcoming Events:
• April: Contact Pastor Becker if you would like him to bless your home
• Thurs, Mar 27 (noon): Pastor Becker teaches the Zoom class for the Nigerians (the book of Revelation)
• Thurs, Mar 27 (6:30pm): Aase Haugen Annual Meeting
• Sat, Mar 29: Memorial service for Martin Marty in Minneapolis (available via live stream)
• Sun, Mar 30 (8:45am): Bible class (on the Psalms) meets in the nave at Big Canoe
• Sun, Mar 30 (9am): No Sunday School
• Sun, Mar 30 (10am): Worship w/Holy Communion (Big Canoe) – Fourth Sunday in Lent (purple)
• Wed, Apr 2 (9am): Midweek Lenten Bible class (Winneshiek Wildberry Winery)
• Wed, Apr 2: Lenten supper (6pm), choir practice (6:30pm), and worship (7pm) at Glenwood
• Thurs, Apr 3 – Mon, Apr 7: Pastor Becker is attending a theological conference at Duke University, NC
• Sat, Apr 5 (8:30am): Spring cluster for Highland women.
• Sun, Apr 6 (8:45am): Bible class (led by Pastor Gies) meets in the nave at Big Canoe
• Sun, Apr 6 (9am): Children’s Sunday School meets in the Fellowship Hall at Big Canoe
• Sun, Apr 6 (10am): Worship w/Holy Communion (Big Canoe) – Fifth Sunday in Lent (purple) – Pr. Gies
• Wed, Apr 9 (9am): Midweek Lenten Bible class (Winneshiek Wildberry Winery)
• Wed, Apr 9: Lenten supper (6pm), choir practice (6:30pm), and worship (7pm) at Madison Lutheran
• Sun, Apr 13 (8:45am): Bible class (on the Psalms) meets in the Fellowship Hall at Highland
• Sun, Apr 13 (10am): Worship w/Holy Communion (Highland) – Palm Sunday (purple)
• Wed, Apr 16 (9am): Midweek Lenten Bible class (Winneshiek Wildberry Winery)
• Thurs, Apr 17 (7pm): Maundy Thursday service w/Holy Communion (Big Canoe)
• Fri, Apr 18 (7pm): Good Friday service (Highland)
• Sun, Apr 20 (8am): Worship w/Holy Communion at Big Canoe – Easter Sunday (white)
• Sun, Apr 20: No Sunday School or adult Bible class on Easter Sunday.
• Sun, Apr 20 (9am): Easter breakfast and pie auction at Big Canoe (to support the Luther League)
• Sun, Apr 20 (10am): Worship w/Holy Communion at Highland – Easter Sunday (white)
• Sun, Apr 27 (8:45am): Bible class (on the Book of Revelation) meets in the Fellowship Hall at Highland
• Sun, Apr 27 (10am): Service of the Word (Highland) – Second Sunday of Easter (white)
• Sat, May 3 (7:30am): LWR Truck at Olson Explosives, Decorah
• Sun, May 4 (8:45am): Bible class (on the Book of Revelation) meets in the nave at Big Canoe
• Sun, May 4 (9am): Children’s Sunday School meets in the Fellowship Hall at Big Canoe
• Sun, May 4 (10am): Worship w/Holy Communion (Big Canoe) – Third Sunday of Easter (white)
• May 5-7: Pastor Becker will be presenting at a theological conference in Ohio
• May 7-12: Pastor Becker will be in Valparaiso for Detra’s graduation
• Thurs, May 8 (9am): Shared Ministry Meeting (Big Canoe)
• Sat, May 10: Detra Becker graduates with a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling
• Sun, May 11 (8:45am): Bible class meets in the Fellowship Hall at Highland (Pastor Gies)
• Sun, May 11 (10am): Worship w/Holy Communion (Highland [Pr. Gies]) – Fourth Sun. of Easter (white)
• Sun, May 11: Mother’s Day
• Mon, May 12: Pastor Becker returns from Valparaiso
• Fri, June 6 – Sat, June 7: ELCA NEI Synod Assembly in Cedar Falls
• Sat, June 21 (10am-1pm): Annual church retreat for Highland and Big Canoe churches (Big Canoe)
• Sun, July 27: Shared Ministry Joint Worship Service, Potluck, and Fun Day (Highlandville School)
• --
  Matthew L. Becker, STS, B.A., M.Div., M.A., Ph.D.

Pastor, Big Canoe and Highland Lutheran Churches, Decorah, IA

Treasurer, Lutheran Quarterly

Senior Research Professor of Theology

Valparaiso UniversityCollege of Arts & Sciences Room 314
1400 Chapel DriveValparaiso, IN 46383

Phone:  219-916-8535

E-mail: matthew.becker@valpo.edu

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