Thursday, July 23, 2020

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 EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

July 26, 2020

 

Almighty and everlasting God, give us an increase of faith, hope, and love, that, receiving what You have promised, we may love what You have commanded; 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 26

   9:00 a.m.    Divine Service (Pentecost 8) (C)  

 

Sunday, August 2

   9:00 a.m.    Divine Service (Pentecost 9) (C)

 

  THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH YEAR

   July 28

    Commemoration of Johann Sebastian Bach,

        Kantor

 

  July 29

    Commemoration of Mary, Martha, and 

        Lazarus of Bethany

 

  July 30

    Commemoration of Robert Barnes, 

      Confessor and Martyr

 

  July 31

    Commemoration of Joseph of Arimathea

 

ST. JOHN’S NEWS

 

Organist Today:        Marcia Hanna   Elder for July:  Jeff Schutjer

 

A Special Thank You to Pastor Mark Lund of Trinity for leading our service this morning

 

Pastor on Vacation - Pastor Cowell will be out of town on vacation from July 23-August 1.  If you are in need of immediate pastoral care, please call Trinity, Algona’s pastoral care line at 515-361-1269 and Pastor Schlund or Pastor Lund will be able to assist you. 

 

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 - St. John’s is now 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.  

 

Area take-home VBS will be ready soon! - For those who have signed up for a VBS packet, you can pick them up in the back of church.  This joint VBS (Immanuel Lotts Creek, St John’s Fenton, St Luke’s Fairville, St Paul’s Whittemore & St John’s Burt) is funded by Immanuel’s Endowment Fund and a number of other generous donations.  Thank you so much for making this happen!! Pray that the message of God’s Word that is shared in these packets will reach the hearts of the youngsters who receive these VBS lessons!  The theme of the VBS is 2020 Vision – Hebrews 12:2 - fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (NIV). - Denise Chrischilles 515-344-2973.

 

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

Building Healthy Families: How many hours per day do you spend on social media? How many watching TV? Playing golf? Shopping? Working without end? Although these activities in themselves are not bad, hobbies, habits and jobs can take a great amount of time, replacing other important things if we let them. As Psalms 90:12 instructs, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” May we wisely live out our days on earth, spending time with our Creator and those He has created to share life with us. Lutheran Family Service - www.LutheranFamilyService.org

 

LECTIONARY SUMMARY (Proper 12)

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 7:6-9 

God saved His people from Egypt not because they were great, but because God is great.

 

Epistle: Romans 8:28-39

“If God is for us, who can be against us?”

 

Gospel: Matthew 13:44-58

Jesus tells the parables of the treasure in the field, the pearl of great price, and the net.

 

LCMS MEMORY VERSE CHALLENGE

‘I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. in the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.’  - John 16:33

 

LESSONS ON THE LITURGY 

The Crucifix

Christians love the image of the cross.  The cross is for us a sign of victory over sin, death, and the devil.  Christians also love the image of the crucifix: Jesus hanging on the cross.  When we see a crucifix we see Jesus who, like the man in the parable of the treasure hidden in a field, in His joy sold all that He had on the cross to redeem us for His Father’s Kingdom. 

 

FROM THE BOOK OF CONCORD

Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Article XI: God's Eternal Election, paragraphs 46-49

God ordained in His eternal purpose what cannot fail or be overthrown. He placed salvation for safekeeping in the almighty hand of our Savior, Jesus Christ, from which no one can snatch us (John 10:28). Therefore, Paul asks in Romans, because we "are called according to His purpose" (8:28), who "will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord"? (8:39). 

Furthermore, this doctrine provides glorious consolation under the cross and amid temptations. In other words, God in His counsel, before the time of the world, determined and decreed that He would assist us in all distresses. He determined to grant patience, give consolation, nourish and encourage hope, and produce an outcome for us that would contribute to our salvation. Also, Paul teaches this in a very consoling way. He explains that God in His purpose has ordained before the time of the world by what crosses and sufferings He would conform every one of His elect to the image of His Son. His cross shall and must work together for good for everyone, because they are called according to God's purpose. Therefore, Paul has concluded that it is certain and beyond doubt that neither "tribulation, or distress," neither "death nor life," or other such things "will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (See Romans 8:28,29,35,38,39)