Announcements

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  stjohnsburt.org

Pastor’s Email: pastor@stjohnsburt.org 

Church Email: churchoffice@stjohnsburt.org

 

THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

July 5, 2020

 

Gracious God, our heavenly Father, Your mercy attends us all our days. Be our strength and support amid the wearisome changes of this world, and at life’s end grant us Your promised rest and the full joys of Your salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 

 

THIS WEEK AT ST. JOHN’S Today, July 5    9:00 a.m.    Divine Service (Pentecost 5) (C)                                Sunday, July 11    9:00 a.m.    Divine Service (Pentecost 6) (C)

THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH YEAR  July 6     Commemoration of Isaiah

ST. JOHN’S NEWS

 

Organist Today: Kitty Bierstedt  Elder for July: Jeff Schutjer

 

Portals of Prayer Booklets for July-September are in a basket in the back of the church instead of each mailbox.  Feel free to pick one up or deliver one to a friend!

 

Holy Communion available - If you are not comfortable coming to the Sunday service but would still like to receive Holy Communion, you are welcome to participate in a Divine Service in the sanctuary at St. John’s during the week by appointment.  Bread and wine will be laid out before your arrival and Pastor can maintain plenty of distance during the service.  If you are not able to come to the sanctuary, we can arrange a safe way for you to receive the Lord’s Supper at home.  Feel free to call Pastor Cowell on his cell phone at 319-464-5548 to set up a time to meet.  

 

St. John’s Live-streamed Service - Beginning this week, St. John’s will be live-streaming our Sunday Divine Service on our YouTube channel: “St. John’s Burt.” These services will be archived for you to view on YouTube later as well. 

 

New Weekly Announcements Email - St. John’s has started emailing our weekly announcements through Flocknote.  If you would like to receive these weekly announcements in a computer or smartphone-friendly format, contact the church office and we can add you to the list.  You can also contact the church office to update any of your Flocknote preferences. 

 

St. John’s Kids - St. John’s Kids is a collection of short videos on the liturgy, Small Catechism, and other topics of the Christian faith.  These videos can benefit “kids” of all ages! View them by clicking on the “St. John’s Kids YouTube Channel” icon on the homepage of stjohnsburt.org.  

 

Pastor’s Corner - There is a new tab at stjohnsburt.org called the “Pastor’s Corner.”  Here you’ll find a collection of resources we’ve been using to learn at St. John’s during the past three years.  Check back often as new content is added to this page each week.  If you have any recommendations for content for either the Youtube channel or Pastor’s Corner, feel free to let Pastor Cowell know! 

 

Offerings and alms during our time away – We thank God for blessing us with the tools and resources to continue the distribution of His grace at St. John’s, and we thank God for blessing us with faithful Christians to fund our ministry and operational expenses.  Keep up the good work! Also note that if you or your family has encountered any financial hardship during this time, don’t hesitate to contact Pastor Cowell to see if our congregation can help in any way. 

St. John’s Vacation Bible School - This year St. John’s is hosting a "family VBS."  This means that we are encouraging all our members and friends of all ages to join the kids as we learn what it means to be a Christian family as well as a Christian church family.  The VBS will be on four Wednesday evenings from 5:30-7:30, with supper being at 5:30.  Our big uncertainty right now is when we will be able to have our first VBS Wednesday!  We will let you know as soon as we have the dates set.  If you would like to volunteer at the VBS in any capacity, please let Pastor or a member of the Board of Education know and we’ll find you a spot to serve. 

SYNOD, DISTRICT, & PARTNERSHIP NEWS

 

Trinity, Algona Schedule - As Trinity, Algona opens their worship in their church building today, note that they will continue their livestreamed service and other online resources in the coming months. You can find all these resources from Trinity at: trinityalgona.org/corona.  

 

Camp Okoboji has cancelled summer programs, but is still renting out the Family Ministry Cabins. See campokoboji.org for more information. 

 

Building Healthy Families - In 2 Chronicles 7:14 we read, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” This invitation and promise are still true for us today. Will you commit some time to prayer this week for our nation? Our president, senators, representatives, governor, state senators and representatives and local community leaders face enormous challenges and need our prayers. Lutheran Family Service - www.LutheranFamilyService.org

 

COMMUNITY  NEWS

 

Burt Summer Celebration is being held on Saturday, July 11th.  Our schedule of events have changed due to the Covid. We will have the parade in the evening beginning at 5:00 p.m.  Following the parade at the Complex there will be a Food stand at 6:00 p.m. sponsored by the Kossuth County Fair Board and Music by Emma Elsbecker.  The Street Dance will begin at 9:00 p.m. and the Burt Fire Department will have Fireworks at the Athletic Field at 10:00 p.m. Bring your lawn chairs and come and enjoy some time in Burt.

 

LECTIONARY SUMMARY (Proper 9)

Old Testament: Zechariah 9:9-12

Zechariah prophesies of Zion’s savior king, “humble and mounted on a donkey.” 

 

Epistle: Romans 7:14-25a

St. Paul describes the war being waged between his old, sinful nature and his new, redeemed life in the Spirit. 

 

Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30

Jesus declares: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” 

 

LCMS MEMORY VERSE CHALLENGE

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  - Matthew 11:28

 

LESSONS ON THE LITURGY 

The Stole

Like many of the vestments of the church, the origins and original purpose of the stole is complicated.  However there is much that we can learn from its use among pastors today.  The stole distinguishes its wearer as one called to the office of the holy ministry.  When a pastor wears a stole he gives you confidence that he is the man who has been called by God to deliver God’s gifts to you.  Also, the stole happens to look like a yoke.  Your pastor has been yoked by Christ for service to his people.  Therefore the words and actions of the pastor are never his own, but Christ’s words and deeds which the pastor delivers to you. 

 

 

FROM THE BOOK OF CONCORD

Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XXI: Saints, paragraphs 16-19

We will show that the adversaries truly make the saints not just intercessors, but atonement makers, that is, mediators of redemption.

In a person who makes atonement, two things are required. First, there should be a Word of God from which we certainly know that God wants to listen to, those calling upon Him through this atonement maker. There is such a promise about Christ, "Whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to your" (John 16:23). There is no such promise about the saints. Therefore, consciences cannot be completely confident that we are heard by the invocation of saints. This invocation, therefore, does not spring from faith. We also have the command to call upon Christ: "Come to Me, all who labor" (Matthew 11:28). In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples - of Him shall the nations inquire (Isaiah 11:10).

What commandment, what example, can the adversaries produce from the Scriptures about the invocation of saints? The second requirement for an atonement maker is that his merits are shown to make satisfaction for other people. They are divinely given to others, so that through them, just as by their own merits, other people may be regarded righteous. For Christ's sake we are heard and we are regarded righteous by Christ's merits as though we had our own merits.