Announcements
ANNOUNCEMENTS and NOTICES
August 4, 2019
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Collect of the Day – O Lord, grant us wisdom to recognize the treasures You have stored up for us in heaven, that we may never despair but always rejoice and be thankful for the riches of Your grace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Sunday Morning Bible Study – This summer our Sunday morning Bible study (8 a.m.) will be studying our favorite stories of the Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy). The title of next week’s study “The Jewish Church Year” – Leviticus 16:23-25.
Burt Church Social - Join us Saturday, August 25, starting at 4:45 p.m. for our summer church social with Burt Presbyterian! This event will help us get to know our brothers and sisters in Christ at Burt Presbyterian as we begin to look into ways to show Christ's love and mercy to our community together with them. See the inserted sheet for more information on the event., and sign up on the back table so we can get an idea of how much food/drink to prepare and what you would like to bring.
Summer Midweek Divine Service - Would you like to receive God's Word and Sacrament during the week? Whether you couldn't make it Sunday, or you've got a weekend camping trip planned, or you just enjoy receiving God's gifts: we've got what you need! St. John's is offering a summer Wednesday spoken Divine Service at 7:00 p.m. on these Wednesdays: Aug. 7 & Aug. 21. Plan on the service lasting around a half hour.
Partnership Rally Day - Join us Sunday, September 8th at 10:30 a.m. at Smith Lake for our 2nd Annual Partnership Rally Day! Bring your lawn chair as we join with Trinity to pray God's blessing on a new year of Christian education at our churches. We'll begin with a short prayer service including the presenting of Bibles and Catechisms, followed by lunch and games. The service and lunch will be on the east side of the lake (the same location as last year). We will still also have our regularly scheduled worship service at St. John's at 9:00 a.m. that morning.
Thrivent Action Teams - Do you receive your insurance or other services through Thrivent Financial? If you do, you are eligible to apply for two $250 gift cards per year to go toward service projects for your church or community. If you would like for St. John's to utilize your Thrivent Action Card toward a service project, please talk to Pastor Cowell and he can discuss with you opportunities to do so.
Daily Prayer Cards Available - Feel free to take a daily prayer card on the back table for your personal or family devotions. These cards include prayer suggestions for each day of the week as well as short prayer services for morning, noon, evening, and night. These prayer cards are a great tool for forming a habit of prayer in your own life, and for starting a daily prayer routine with your family.
Thank You to Kitty, Lynn and Jeff for volunteering to help Trinity Community Care Committee serve the Free Barbeque at the Kossuth County Fair on Wednesday.
New Flocknote Group at St. John's - We've added a new group to our Flocknote text/email system called "St. John's Volunteers." This group will receive a message any time St. John's is in need of volunteers (such as for VBS, Burt Day church coffee, a Sunday School sub, Christmas decorating, bringing cookies for an event, etc.). Subscribing to this group doesn't obligate you to help out with every event. We would simply send out a message requesting help and you would have the opportunity to respond with "yes, I can help," or "no, I can't help." This specific Flocknote group was created so that only people who are interested in volunteer opportunities are receiving these messages and not the entire congregation.
- If you're interested, please sign up on the sheet on the back table.
- These requests for volunteers will also always be posted in our weekly announcements.
- If you are interested in signing up for any other Flocknote groups or updating your preferences, see the information sheet on the side table in the back of church or talk to Pastor Cowell.
Church Roof Fund – Due to your swift and generous contributions, our savings account has been replenished from the roof expenses. However we continue to have a growing list of capital maintenance and improvement projects, which include cleaning and repairing the siding, painting the sanctuary, and others. If you had planned on giving toward the roof and haven’t yet, we encourage you to give toward the repair and upkeep of the church by designating an amount on the “Capital Growth” line of your offering envelope. With your help we can continue to make St. John’s a functional and beautiful place to share the gospel!
This Week in the Church Year
Feast Days: None this week.
Commemorations: August 8th; Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr
Biographies of the saints we commemorate throughout the year as well as prayers for special feast days in the Church Year are available on the back table. This information is also available in the Treasury of Daily Prayer, the PrayNow iPhone app by CPH, or the LCMS Eurasia Facebook page. Talk with Pastor Cowell if you have any questions about these resources.
Lectionary Summaries - Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12–14; 2:18–26; Colossians 3:1–11; Luke 12:13–21
Faith in Christ Is Rich Toward God
To live for earthly things “is vanity and a striving after wind,” and work that is driven by such vanity “is an unhappy business” (Eccl. 1:13–14). The man who lives like that has nothing to show for “all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun … all his days are full of sorrow” (Eccl. 2:22–23). So, too, your “covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5), makes a god out of that which cannot give you life or happiness. For “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). But “Christ who is your life” (Col. 3:4), in giving you Himself, gives you all the wealth of heaven. Instead of striving to lay up treasures for yourself, be “rich toward God” in Him (Luke 12:21).
This Week at St. John’s – (August 4, 2019-August 11, 2019)
Ushers for August: *Clark Christensen & Jesse Fitzgerald Elder for July: Jerry Koestler
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