Announcements
ANNOUNCEMENTS and NOTICES
August 25, 2019
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Collect of the Day – O Lord, You have called us to enter Your kingdom through the narrow door. Guide us by Your Word and Spirit, and lead us now and always into the feast of Your Son, Jesus Christ, 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 from the book of Deuteronomy is: “History 101 with Professor Moses.”
Burt Church Social - Join us this evening, 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 you tonight!
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.
Education Meeting – Our Sunday School/Religion School meeting for parents, students, and teachers will be Wednesday, September 4th at 6:30 p.m. The first day of Sunday School is September 8th and the first day of Religion School is September 11th.
The Great St. John's Tidy-Up - St. John's is filled with a treasury of Sunday school materials, VBS materials, posters, decorations, and the like. The trouble is that our resources are so spread out across the church that we're not entirely sure what all we have. It's with this in mind that we are going to embark on the great St. John's tidy-up! On Saturday, September 21 starting at 9:00 a.m. we are going to collect all of our Christian education materials in the church, bring them to the basement, and organize them in a useful way. This will also free up room to organize Christmas decorations and office materials in the process. We'll work until the job is done, but even if you can only come for an hour or two we'd love your help!
Altar Flowers – If you would like to donate Altar Flowers in celebration of a special event or in memory of a loved one, please contact Cheryl Batt.
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.
Parish Messenger Articles for the September/October edition is due to Linda Kerkove today.
Save the Date! The Kossuth County CARE Team is hosting a Quilt Show on Saturday, September 28th. It will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Trinity Life Center, Trinity Lutheran Church in Algona, IA. If you are interested in displaying a quilt or if you would like to help, please contact Brenda Bormann- bormann@ncn.net or text her at 515-341-6982 or Jane Dreyer - janedreyer95@hotmail.com or text her at 515-320-0490. We hope you can join us. All monies will be given to the CARE Team.
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: 8/29: Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist.
Commemorations: 8/27: Monica, Faithful Mother; 8/28: Augustine of Hippo
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.
The Cross of Christ Is the Way into the Kingdom of God
Isaiah 66:18–23; Hebrews 12:4–24 (25–29); Luke 13:22–30
With the cross of Christ, the time has come “to gather all nations and tongues” (Is. 66:18). The sign of the cross is set forth in the preaching of the Gospel, the declaration of the Lord’s glory “among the nations” (Is. 66:19). Many “will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God” (Luke 13:29), but only by the narrow way of the cross. Those who refuse to follow Christ crucified will ultimately find only “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Luke 13:28), whereas Christ’s disciples, called from all the nations, will eat and drink with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God. They will come into “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22). - lcms.org/worship/lectionary-summaries
This Week at St. John’s – (August 25, 2019-September 1, 2019)
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