December Message from the Principal
From the Principal’s Desk
December 2017
A "Sola" Christmas
December is here! Time to get ready for Christmas - the shopping, the decorating, hearing special music, the special foods, planning family gatherings, hoping you receive the gift you are dreaming about - all these and more occupy our time and energy. It is a very exciting time and a very exhausting time. Notice I have used the word “time” quite a bit. This is something that seems to be in very high demand in December yet it has a limited quantity. How we use the time that God has given us is important. We need to recognize that Christmas is the celebration God’s gift of salvation to us through the birth of his son, Jesus.
The November From the Principal’s Desk focused on the Reformation and its main truths, Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), Sola Fide (faith alone), Sola Gratia (grace alone), Solus Christus (Christ alone), and Soli Deo Gloria (to the glory of God alone). The Christmas service for grades kindergarten through eighth is titled “A Sola Christmas". All five main truths of the Reformation will be explained and supported by Scripture recitations and narrations. Songs will also be part of the Christmas message. This service will be held on Wednesday, December 20, at 6:00 p.m.
The Preschool Christmas service will be held on Thursday, December 14, at 6:00 p.m. Their service will illustrate how a candy cane can help tell the story of Jesus’s birth. The children will be using recitations and songs to tell the story. This is a service you will not want to miss! Their enthusiasm for sharing the message is tremendous, especially when they sing “Go Tell It on the Mountain”.
The opening paragraph of the “Sola” Christmas service is an appropriate ending to this letter:
“We all know how important a solid foundation is for a building. A building with a weak foundation may stand for a time, but eventually, it will topple. Tonight, we once again hear the account of the birth of Jesus. Why do we set aside time to do this every year? The answer is that this is an important brick in the foundation of our faith. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:11, “No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” As we close out the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we are reminded how God used Martin Luther to restore to the church the true teachings of Scripture. Luther summarized those teachings in five short statements: By Scripture Alone, By Faith Alone, Through Christ Alone, To God’s Glory Alone, and By Grace Alone. These phrases form the foundation of the Lutheran Church, and because they are rooted in Scripture, they form the foundation of the Christian faith.”
God’s eternal blessings to all of you, this Christmas and the rest of your life.
Roger Zolldan
Principal, Salem Lutheran School
December 2017
A "Sola" Christmas
December is here! Time to get ready for Christmas - the shopping, the decorating, hearing special music, the special foods, planning family gatherings, hoping you receive the gift you are dreaming about - all these and more occupy our time and energy. It is a very exciting time and a very exhausting time. Notice I have used the word “time” quite a bit. This is something that seems to be in very high demand in December yet it has a limited quantity. How we use the time that God has given us is important. We need to recognize that Christmas is the celebration God’s gift of salvation to us through the birth of his son, Jesus.
The November From the Principal’s Desk focused on the Reformation and its main truths, Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), Sola Fide (faith alone), Sola Gratia (grace alone), Solus Christus (Christ alone), and Soli Deo Gloria (to the glory of God alone). The Christmas service for grades kindergarten through eighth is titled “A Sola Christmas". All five main truths of the Reformation will be explained and supported by Scripture recitations and narrations. Songs will also be part of the Christmas message. This service will be held on Wednesday, December 20, at 6:00 p.m.
The Preschool Christmas service will be held on Thursday, December 14, at 6:00 p.m. Their service will illustrate how a candy cane can help tell the story of Jesus’s birth. The children will be using recitations and songs to tell the story. This is a service you will not want to miss! Their enthusiasm for sharing the message is tremendous, especially when they sing “Go Tell It on the Mountain”.
The opening paragraph of the “Sola” Christmas service is an appropriate ending to this letter:
“We all know how important a solid foundation is for a building. A building with a weak foundation may stand for a time, but eventually, it will topple. Tonight, we once again hear the account of the birth of Jesus. Why do we set aside time to do this every year? The answer is that this is an important brick in the foundation of our faith. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:11, “No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” As we close out the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we are reminded how God used Martin Luther to restore to the church the true teachings of Scripture. Luther summarized those teachings in five short statements: By Scripture Alone, By Faith Alone, Through Christ Alone, To God’s Glory Alone, and By Grace Alone. These phrases form the foundation of the Lutheran Church, and because they are rooted in Scripture, they form the foundation of the Christian faith.”
God’s eternal blessings to all of you, this Christmas and the rest of your life.
Roger Zolldan
Principal, Salem Lutheran School