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 ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

August 16, 2020

 

Almighty and everlasting Father, You give Your children many blessings even though we are undeserving. In every trial and temptation grant us steadfast confidence in Your loving-kindness and mercy; 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, August 16, 2020    9:00 a.m.    Divine Service (Pentecost 11) (C)   Sunday, August 23    9:00 a.m.    Divine Service (Pentecost 12) (C)

THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH YEAR    August 16     Commemoration of Isaac   August 17     Commemoration of Johann Gerhard,         Theologian   August 19     Commemoration of Bernard of Clairvaux,          Hymnwriter and Theologian   August 20     Commemoration of Samuel

 

ST. JOHN'S NEWS

 

Organist Today:  Marcia Hanna

Elder for August: Boyd Shipler

 

Thank You so much for your generous Scholarship! I am truly blessed to Witness God using His people to care for others. Thank you for answering God's call to care for me and my family. I am reminded that God is the creator and provider of all things. It is through Him that we are able to do anything good. Soli Deo Gloria! Nick Palmer and Family

 

Pastoral Care - Pastor Cowell will be out of town Monday-Friday this week.  If you are in immediate need of pastoral care please call the Trinity pastoral care phone at 515-361-1269 and Pastor Schlund or Lund will assist you. 

 

Parish Messenger Articles are due to Linda Kerkove by Sunday, August 23 for the September/October edition.

 

St. John's Parent-Teacher Meeting - All parents, students, and teachers will have a meeting in the sanctuary after church on Sunday, August 30th to discuss the upcoming year of Christian education at St. John's.  If you can't attend this meeting, please let Pastor know and he can schedule an individual meeting at a time that works for you. 

 

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. 

 

Sunday School and Adult Bible Study Returns! - Sunday school and adult Bible study will resume Sunday, September 13th at 8:00 a.m.  All are welcome to join our Sunday school students in the church basement at 8:00 as we bless each classroom for another year of Christian instruction. 

 

Adult Bible Study on the Book of Matthew - Beginning September 13th the adult Bible study will begin a verse-by-verse study of the Gospel of Matthew.  During the study we will be utilizing a journal version of the Book of Matthew to help us note key details and moments in the text along the way.  Each attendee will receive a book on the first Sunday they join the study.  Tables are spread out in the basement as a social distancing measure and you are welcome to wear a mask if you choose to do so. 

 

Midweek Christian Instruction for All Ages - The education committee has decided to postpone VBS until next year.  There is still, however, an opportunity for church members of all ages to enjoy each other's company outside of Sunday morning!  This year we are encouraging parents and other adults to sit in with the kids during their Wednesday evening instruction.  The main purpose of this is to encourage our children with our good example and to share our wisdom and experience with them as fellow Christians.  Therefore, this is your open invitation to join us on Wednesday evenings in the church basement for any one, several, or all lessons!  A class schedule along with an explanation of all of the changes to our midweek program will be published in the September Parish Messenger so that you can take note of any lessons you would be especially interested in attending. 

 

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. 

SYNOD, DISTRICT, & PARTNERSHIP NEWS

 

Trinity, Algona Schedule - As Trinity, Algona opens their worship in their church building 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. 

 

Did You Know? Over 4500 couples will divorce this year in Iowa. That's one divorce for every 4 marriages. We know that pre-marriage counseling and marriage education help marriages last, even when things get rough. LFS counselors provide these helpful resources for Iowa couples who plan to marry, as well as reconciliation counseling for couples in conflict who may be considering divorce. Your financial gifts help us serve couples and families regardless of their income or ability to pay. Thank you and may God bless our work together to support and strengthen Iowa marriages! Lutheran Family Service - www.LutheranFamilyService.org

 

COMMUNITY NEWS

 

The Fenton Legion is holding a Benefit today, August 16. Sweet corn, pork patties, packages of chips, and bottled water will be served from 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 PM with a freewill donation. Curbside pick up or social distancing inside and outside will be available. Patriotic quilt raffle tickets will also be sold for a $1.00 each.

 

LECTIONARY SUMMARY (Proper 15)

Old Testament: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8 

The Lord promises salvation for all nations alongside Israel. 

 

Epistle: Romans 11:1-2a, 13-15, 28-32

St. Paul explains that even though the Jewish people largely rejected Jesus, God offers salvation to all people, even His beloved Israel, by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

 

Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28

A Canaanite woman seeks the help of Jesus for her demon-oppressed daughter, and confesses with great faith that she would be content to be a dog receiving crumbs under its master's table.

 

LCMS MEMORY VERSE CHALLENGE

Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. - John 11:25

 

LESSONS ON THE LITURGY 

Jews and Gentiles

Two groups of people that are frequently mentioned in Scripture are the Jews and Gentiles.  Jewish people were the biological descendents from the twelve tribes of Israel.  By Jesus' day the Jews did not live in a central location - although many lived in Jerusalem where the temple was located.  The Jews were the people God called His own people.  They were the people from whom the Messiah would come.  The Gentiles were any non-Jewish people.  Most Gentiles such as the Romans or Greeks worshiped false gods.  However, some believed in the true God and were even involved, to a limited extent, in the worship life of the Jewish people.  In today's Gospel lesson we see that Jesus was preparing the world to see that after His death and resurrection any person, Jew or Gentile, who believed and was baptized would now be called a child of God.

 

FROM THE BOOK OF CONCORD

Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article V: Love and Fulfilling the Law, paragraphs 213, 216-217

Here Christ's declaration applies, "So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty' " (Luke 17:10). These words clearly declare that God saves by mercy and because of His promise, not that it is due because of the value of our works. [...] 

     The adversaries are deceived regarding the term faith. If faith would signify historical knowledge that the wicked and the devils also possess, the adversaries would correctly argue that faith is unprofitable when they say: "When we have believed all things, say, 'We are unprofitable servants.' " But we are not speaking of historical knowledge, but of confidence in God's promise and mercy. This confidence in the promise confesses that we are unprofitable servants. Yes, this confession that our works are unworthy is the very voice of faith, as appears in this example of Daniel 9:18, which we cited, "We do not present our pleas before You because of our righteousness." Faith saves because it takes hold of mercy, or the promise of grace, even though our works are unworthy. Understood this way, namely, that our works are unworthy, the word reversal does not injure us: "When you shall have believed all things, say, 'We are unprofitable servants.' " We teach the same as the entire Church when we teach that we are saved by mercy.