St. Matthew Lutheran Church - Ernestville, Mo.

05/08/2026

"Though He giveth or He taketh, God His Children never forsaketh; His the loving purpose solely To preserve them pure and holy!"

Prayer Service for Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss:
St. Paul's Lutheran Church will hold an evening memorial service this Monday, May 11 at 6 pm. The service will include readings, prayers, music, and a time to memorialize babies lost. Consider attending even if you lost a baby years ago. Families are welcome.

04/19/2026

Thank you to the youth of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and School - Concordia, MO! The 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th graders spent the day serving neighbors throughout the community — raking leaves, clearing branches, and caring for the homes of elderly residents. The smiles on the faces of those watching these young people work hard were a good reminder: Love of neighbor is not just something we teach — it's something Christ created us to do.

The youth also helped at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, Ernestville, where the students trimmed trees on the church grounds and gathered for lunch in the basement — tired, dirty, and smiling. A good and faithful day’s work.

Events like ✨Shine Day ✨remind us that the Church is not only a place we gather, but a people sent into the community to point to Jesus and His service to us.

Thanks be to God for servant-hearted youth, caring neighbors, and a community strengthened by Christ's love in action!

04/06/2026

The season is a fifty-day-long season of joy extending from Easter to Pentecost. During this time, the Church celebrates the end of Christ's struggles and proclaims His victory over death and the reception of the benefits of His life, death, and resurrection as gracious gifts of love and mercy for all those who believe in Him. This is the Church's great season of joy! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

04/02/2026

Join us this evening, April 2, for the Maundy Thursday Divine Service at 7:00 p.m.
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). By eating His body and drinking His blood, we proclaim to all the world that Jesus is, indeed, our Passover Lamb (Ex. 12:1–14), who was sacrificed for us on Calvary. In Christ, the Lord remembers us in mercy and remembers our sin no more; He forgives us all our iniquity. With such love, he “loved His own who were in the world,” and even loves us “to the end” (John 13:1). As He washes us and feeds us in love, let us love one another, just as He has loved us (John 13:34).

03/24/2026

✝️ CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULES! ✝️
Wednesday, March 25 - Lenten Vespers - 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 29 - Palm Sunday Divine Service - 10:00 a.m.
Wednesday, April 1 - Private Confession and Absolution - 7:00-9:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 2 - Maundy Thursday Divine Service - 7:00 p.m.
Friday, April 3 - Good Friday Vespers - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 4 - Easter Vigil Divine Service - Trinity Lutheran Church, Norborne, Missouri - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 5 - Easter breakfast - 7:30-9:00 a.m.; Divine Service - 9:00 a.m.

03/24/2026

📯Hear ye! Hear ye!

Holy Week is fast approaching. For families juggling school, extracurriculars, and the day-to-day needs of teenagers to toddlers, it can be a hectic week. This Holy Week, follow Jesus with your family every day on His journey to the cross and ending at the empty tomb with a special devotional booklet designed to be used even with small children. This series of short devotionals offers brief Bible readings, conversation starters and prayers for every day from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, allowing your family to focus on what matters most this Holy Week and every week: Jesus and what He has done for us. Explore it now: https://thelc.ms/3N84Dd5

03/16/2026

📢 No Lenten services Wednesday, March 18!

As an FYI: Lenten services start at 6:30 p.m. at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church & Preschool in Lexington.

02/18/2026

Join us for Ash Wednesday Vespers tonight, Wed., February 18, at 7:00 p.m.

+SERVICE OF THE WORD+
Ash Wednesday
Feb. 18, 2026

PSALM
Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of Jerusalem;
then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

COLLECT OF THE DAY

Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

01/24/2026

❄️❄️St. Matthew's Sunday School, Bible class, and the Divine Service have all been cancelled for Sunday, January 25, 2026, due to the weather. The Divine Service will be moved to Wednesday, January 28, at 7:00 p.m.

01/15/2026

Strong, faithful Lutheran families don’t happen by accident—they’re formed by God's Word and forgiveness with purpose. 💛
Sign up for the Marriage & Family Conference in Cole Camp, MO | March 20–21, 2026.
Whether you’re married, single, parenting (or grandparenting!), come be encouraged by God’s Word and leave better equipped to live faithfully—right where you are.

The conference is for everyone: For husbands, wives, parents, children, widows, and all single people. Through the word of God, we will grow in our appreciation for God’s wonderful gift of marriage and the family, and return to our homes encouraged and better equipped to lead faithful lives, regar...