Pastor Truog graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1983 with a Master’s of Divinity and a Sacred Theology Masters.  He served at Hope Lutheran in Aurora, Illinois from 1983-1987.  His next church was Cross Lutheran in Yorkville, Illinois where he served from 1987-2011.  In 2011 he accepted the Call to Christ Our Savior Lutheran in Loudon, Tennessee.

   “My greatest joy in ministry is seeing the “light bulb” go on for someone when the Holy Spirit enables them to grasp the free gift of God’s grace for salvation.  At Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church we have an opportunity to nurture and share this gift of God with people from all over the country who have chosen to retire in East Tennessee as well as with those who have had the privilege of living here all their lives.  We are a congregation that stands squarely on the Bible as the very Word of God.  We are known for our friendliness and our desire to serve our community.  We welcome you to get to know us and to discover a place to worship, a place to learn, and a place to serve with your Christian brothers and sisters at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church.”

Pastor's Message

It’s a Scam!

We were repeating that over and over again at the church office last month as people called in wondering if Pastor really did need some gift cards. These scammers quickly went through our entire church directory, and it has been happening in many other churches in the Knoxville area. The scammers have a lot of different tricks to try to make things look legitimate and, if you are not paying attention, it is easy to fall for those tricks.

The Gospel reading for the first Sunday in Lent is about Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. Satan is called “the father of lies” in the Bible. He was the first scammer, too. He has a lot of tricks to make his temptations look legitimate. He even uses the Bible (twisted and taken out of context for his purpose) to tempt Jesus. But Jesus knew His scripture (because He is the author!) and He saw right through the Devil’s scams. He used the power of God’s Word to turn Satan away.

When we get a scam text or email that seems like it might be a scam, one of the first things we need to do is check where it came from. Is it a legitimate phone number or email address, or something different? Is it the type of message we would expect from this person, or is it a little bit strange or different? We need to do the same when Satan’s temptations enter our mind. Ask, where is this really coming from. Is this expressing God’s will for my life, or is it trying to lead me away from God? What does the Bible actually say about
this? Is this really something good or just something cleverly made up to look good?

During Lent we focus on how and why Jesus took on our nature and carried our sins so that He could redeem us by paying the price we owe because of our constant failures to follow God’s will for our lives. He takes our sin and failure onto Himself so that we can have His righteousness and perfection placed over us. He died on the cross as the sacrifice that would pay for the sins of the world, and He rose again victorious over sin, and death, and the devil. He shares that victory with us through the gift of faith. In our Baptism, His death
becomes our death, and His resurrection becomes our resurrection.

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent on March 5th this year. Starting March 5th, we will have a music recital at 4:00 followed by worship at 4:30. We encourage you to use both Wednesday and Sunday worship opportunities during this season of Lent to see how Jesus raises us up out of the ashes of our sin and shame and gives us new life. Don’t let Satan scam you into thinking there is a better way to celebrate your resurrection life.

Pastor Brian                                                 

  Pastor Rhoads graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis  with a Master’s of Divinity degree in 2008. He has served as Associate Pastor at Christ Our Savior since his graduation. Before entering the seminary, he served as a Director of Christian Education at LCMS churches in Florida, Alabama, and Texas.

  Pastor Rhoads enjoys teaching the faith and providing opportunities for people to live out their faith in daily life. “My greatest joy in ministry is helping people grow in their knowledge and appreciation of the grace of God as revealed in the Bible.” In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and hiking the many trails in our area.

Pastor's Message

April Fools!

“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.’’
(1 Corinthians 3:18-19a)

April 1 has long been celebrated as April Fool’s Day. On this day, people have free reign to make “fools” of individuals through practical jokes. Over the years, I have been on both sides of such jokes numerous times. Did you know this is not just an American phenomenon? In Italy, France, and certain areas of Canada the day is known as April Fish from the tradition of attempting to attach a paper fish to the victim’s back without being
noticed. Most news media in several European countries will publish exactly one false story in a prominent place on this day. In one famous prank, the BBC broadcasted a film purporting to show Swiss farmers picking freshly-grown spaghetti, in what they
called the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest. The BBC were flooded with requests to purchase a spaghetti plant, forcing them to declare the film a hoax the very next day.

Being deceived on April 1 brings momentary shame. Being deceived when it comes to Jesus’ saving work brings everlasting shame. According to the world, it is foolish to put your trust in someone else—especially someone who died on a cross over 2000 years ago. The world says it is folly to deny yourself any pleasure. It is equally foolish to do something for someone expecting nothing in return. The wisdom of the world says, “You only live once! Grab for all the gusto you can! You deserve it!” Look again at what God says, “The wisdom of this world is folly with God.” The wisdom of God moved Him to send His only Son to pay the price of our sin through His death and resurrection. Jesus gave His life for us so that we can live each day for Him.

While society invites us to open ourselves up to be “fools” on this one particular day, God
invites us to be “fools” every day! This entire month gives us lots of opportunities to be fools. We continue to repent of our sin and seek undeserved love. We kneel at the cross and the empty tomb. We reach out in love and service to our family and friends. Because Jesus lives, we can live with “foolish” joy and confidence. Let’s be April fools!

Pastor Mark

Here’s an interesting comparison by Rev. Dr. James Baneck of the LCMS that might answer that question. The lambs and sheep our Savior sent Peter to feed and tend were not the wooly kind residing on a beautiful hillside. There are, however, rich parallels between shepherding sheep and shepherding God's people.

James Rebanks watches over real four-legged sheep in the United Kingdom. He writes about the parallels in his article, “Are You Hard Enough to Survive as a Shepherd?”
"The romance wears off after a few weeks, believe me, and you will be left standing cold and lonely on a mountain. It is all about endurance. Digging in. Holding on. You will also need to be emotionally. tough … Carrion crows hang over our lambing fields waiting to steal the eyes out of anything sick or dead that cannot resist … You’ll need the patience of a saint, too, because sheep test you to the limit with a million ways to escape, ail, or die … It requires a body of knowledge and skills that shepherds devote decades to learning."

How this applies to our pastors! There is nothing romantic about being a pastor; it is hard work and often lonely. It demands an endurance that comes only from God. Like carrion crows, Satan seeks to devour God’s people. The pastor stands guard. protecting and feeding God’s sheep with Christ in the preached Word and blessed Sacraments. The formation of men for the Holy Ministry begins at Baptism. And while pastoral formation is intensified during seminary, “it requires a body of knowledge and skills that [pastors] devote decades to learning."

Pastors are to be clothed with the humility of Christ, “who humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). Pastors must be equipped to lead Gods people to the waters of Holy Baptism, where God gives new birth to sinners and opens the kingdom of heaven for them. Pastors are formed to be stewards of the mysteries of God. Pastors feed God’s sheep the Word of God in preaching and teaching and with the body and blood of our Lord at His table. Pastors listen, love and seek the lost.

Looking at all that a Pastor does, how is he prepared for this role at the Seminars’? Can you help with this preparation? Could you sponsor a seminarian? Could you help COS in their sponsoring of eight seminary students? Please help with your gift! ‘For more information, contact John W. Smith. God bless your help.