St. John’s Lutheran Church

         109 Maple St. Burt, Iowa|Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

 

                    Pastor: Rev. Thomas Cowell                         Secretary: Rosann Shipler

                    Pastor’s Cell: 319-464-5548                             Church Office: 515-924-3344

                   Pastor’s Email: pastor@stjohnsburt.org      Church Email: churchoffice@stjohnsburt.org               

PALM SUNDAY

APRIL 5, 2020

 

Almighty and everlasting God, You sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross. Mercifully grant that we may follow the example of His great humility and patience and be made partakers of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

 

 

THIS WEEK AT ST. JOHN’S   All services and activities at St. John’s are cancelled this week.    Our next service will potentially be Sunday, April 19th.  We will provide you with more details as they come.

THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH YEAR     April 6     Commemoration of Lucas Cranach,          Albrecht Duerer, Artists

 

ST. JOHN’S NEWS

 

St. John’s Closed until April 19th – Governor Reynolds has extended Iowa’s health emergency restrictions until April 16th.  This means that, Lord willing, Sunday April 19th will be our first service together again.  

 

Stay connected during our time away - During our time away please be sure that the church has your current phone, cell phone, and email.  Also be sure that your Flocknote communication preferences are up to date.  You can call Pastor Cowell at 319-464-5548 if you need help with this.  Flocknote will be our means of communicating the most important details about our schedule in the weeks to come. 

 

Pastoral Care Available - Pastor Cowell continues to be available for pastoral care.  He is happy to hear your confession and absolve your sins or to give you Holy Communion at home or at church at any time.  If you are not comfortable visiting or being visited, he is happy to talk with you on the phone.  His cell phone is 319-464-5548.  If you have any bodily need in these next few weeks (like needing someone to pick you up groceries or medication, etc.) he is happy to help or to find you help. 

 

Resources for your faith at home - St. John’s is offering a variety of resources to feed your faith during our time away.  Here is a list of some of them:

• There is a table in the back of church full of devotions, prayer services, Bible studies, and Lutheran magazines. Feel free to stop in at church any time and grab some.

 

• Click the microphone on the homepage of stjohnsburt.org to listen to services and sermons, including all Holy Week and Easter Day services. A service folder and announcement document will be available here as well for you to follow along.  

 

• Click on the Youtube icon on the homepage of stjohnsburt.org to see live-streamed and recorded video services from Trinity, Algona.  Here is a list of upcoming services:

Palm Sunday – Sunday, April 5 – live at 9:00 a.m. (you can access later as well)

Holy Thursday – Thursday, April 9 – live at 6:00 p.m. (you can access later as well)

Stations of the Cross – Friday, April 10 – a pre-recorded video will be posted

Good Friday – Friday, April 10 – live at 6:00 p.m. (you can access later as well)

Easter Vigil – Saturday, April 11 – live at 6:00 p.m. (you can access later as well)

Easter Sunday – Sunday, April 12 – live at 9:00 a.m. (you can access later as well)

 

• You can also click on the Youtube icon on the stjohnsburt.org homepage to access daily video devotions from the partnership pastors. 

 

• Follow @stjohnsburt on Facebook to receive daily online resources spanning many areas of your Christian faith. 

 

Palms for Palm Sunday - Feel free to stop by church and pick up a Palm Sunday palm!  We will have instructions available for folding palm crosses. 

The New Portals of Prayer Booklets are in your church bulletin boxes. You may stop by the church anytime to pick those up.

 

Birthday Greetings for Esther Christensen  whose birthday is on Easter Sunday, April 12.  You can send her a birthday card at: 

Esther Christensen

Titonka Care Center

312 1st Ave. NW

Titonka, Iowa 50480

 

Offerings and Alms during our time away – With our cancellation extending to April 19th, our need for your financial support during our time away has become more necessary.  If it is within your financial means, consider mailing your weekly offering to church or arranging to have it dropped off in person.  

Also, consider planning for giving special offerings in the future for others in need as a 

result of this health emergency.  If this emergency has put your family in financial need, 

you should feel no shame in reducing your offering to the church during this time.  If 

your need becomes great, don’t hesitate to contact Pastor Cowell to see if our 

congregation can help in any way. 

 

The Giving Pew - This is a reminder that the season of Lent would be a great time to take a quilt or stuffed bear from the TLC Quilter’s giving pew by the east doors at St. John’s and deliver them to a friend in need of comfort or support. 

 

SYNOD, DISTRICT, & PARTNERSHIP NEWS

 

Trinity, Algona Schedule - All congregational activities at Trinity, Algona have been suspended effective immediately until further notice.  You can receive updates and resources from Trinity at: trinityalgona.org/corona.  

 

 

COMMUNITY NEWS

 

Churches of Burt Volunteer Facebook Group - The Churches of Burt organization has created a Facebook group with the purpose of connecting people who need help with people who are willing to help.  It is our hope that this group will facilitate Christian mercy in our community.  You can search “Churches of Burt Volunteers/Help Wanted” to join the group.  Or, if you would like to offer a volunteer service or are in need of help but don’t have a Facebook account, contact Pastor Cowell and he will post your request for you. 

 

 

LECTIONARY SUMMARY (Palm Sunday)

 

John 12:12–19; Isaiah 50:4–9a; Philippians 2:5–11; John 12:20–43

 

Now Is the Hour When the Son of Man Is Glorified

“Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming.” He comes in gentle humility, “sitting on a donkey's colt,” yet also as the King of Israel “in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13, 15). His royal glory is faithful obedience and self-sacrificing service “to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). The Love of God is manifested in the Cross and Passion of His Son for the salvation of sinners. Since He has borne our sins and suffered our death, “God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:9), and He exalts us in His Resurrection. Our Lord did not hide His face “from disgrace and spitting” (Is. 50:6), but He trusted His God and Father, who raised Him from death and the grave and exalted Him to His right hand. This same King Jesus now comes to us in gentle humility in His Supper, feeds us with His Body, and cleanses and covers us with His Blood, so that “after His Resurrection” we also shall rise and enter the holy city (Matt. 27:52–53).

 

FROM THE BOOK OF CONCORD

 

Large Catechism, Apostles Creed, paragraphs 29-31

There was no counsel, help, or comfort until this eternal Son of God—in His immeasurable goodness—had compassion upon our misery and wretchedness. He came from heaven to help us. So those tyrants and jailers are all expelled now. In their place has come Jesus Christ, Lord of life, righteousness, every blessing, and salvation. He has delivered us poor, lost people from hell's jaws, has won us, has made us free, and has brought us again into the Father's favor and grace. He has taken us as His own property under His shelter and protection so that He may govern us by His righteousness, wisdom, power, life, and blessedness.

 

Let this be the sum of this article: the little word Lord means simply the same as redeemer. It means the One who has brought us from Satan to God, from death to life, from sin to righteousness, and who preserves us in the same. But all the points serve to explain and express this redemption. They explain how and by whom it was accomplished. They explain how much it cost Him and what He spent and risked so that He might win us and bring us under His dominion. It explains that He became man, was conceived and born without sin, so that He might overcome sin. It explains that He suffered, died, and was buried so that He might make satisfaction for me and pay what I owe, not with silver or gold, but with His own precious blood. He did all this in order to become my Lord.