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 FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

September 13, 2020

 

O God, our refuge and strength, the author of all godliness, hear the devout prayers of Your Church, especially in times of persecution, and grant that what we ask in faith we may obtain; through 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 Today, September 13, 2020   8:00 a.m.    Sunday School/Adult Class   9:00 a.m.    Divine Service (Pentecost 15) (C)    Sunday, September 20, 2020    8:00 a.m.    Sunday School/Adult Class    9:00 a.m.    Divine Service (Pentecost 16) (C)      6:00 p.m.    Christian Catechesis

THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH YEAR    September 14     Feast of the Holy Cross      September 16     Commemoration of Cyprian of Carthage,           Pastor and Martyr

 

ST. JOHN’S NEWS

 

Organist Today:        Marcia Hanna    Elder for September:  Tony Hatten

 

Altar Flowers - We are always looking for people to donate flowers or pay for flowers on the altar during the year.  If you would be willing to take a Sunday for a special occasion or just to help out, please contact Cheryl Batt.  She would be willing to order them for you and pick them up.

 

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.  

 

New Booklets in Back of Church - St. John’s has recently purchased several new booklets from the A Simple Explanation series.  These small booklets condense major topics of the faith to a few easy-to-understand sections.  The booklets are great for your own knowledge and can also serve as a conversation starter with your friends and family.  Here are the titles available in the back of church that you are free to take and keep: A Simple Explanation of . . . Christianity; Lutheranism; Heaven and Hell; The Church Service; The Church Year; Holy Communion; and Fellowship in the Lord’s Supper.

 

TLC Quilts Available - The TLC Quilters quilts are back on the “giving pew”!  Feel free to deliver a quilt to a friend in need any time you like.  This is a great way to show that you, the Church, and God care for those who receive the quilt.  Great people to give a quilt to include those: suffering major health problems, grieving the loss of a loved one, going through difficult financial times, newly living alone or in a care center, or celebrating a major milestone in life.  The recipients don’t have to be members of our or any church and we don’t need to know who receives them.  Don’t be shy about delivering them because the quilters make literally hundreds of quilts per year for this good purpose!

 

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 a.m. 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 -  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. 

 

The Fall LWML Rally will be held at St. Paul’s Lutheran, Garner on Thursday, September 17th with registration at 4:30 p.m. and the Rally at 5:00 p.m.  

 

SYNOD, DISTRICT, & PARTNERSHIP NEWS

 

Trinity, Algona Schedule - Trinity, Algona continues to livestream their service and provide several other online resources at this time. 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? Every day LFS counselors meet with people who are experiencing a test or trial of some kind or have been hurt by their own or someone else’s actions. We can help, and we do, but we know we don’t work alone or by our own power. We serve a God who can turn a test into a testimony, a trial into a triumph and a victim into a victorious survivor. Psalm 34 tells us that He is not distant but near to the brokenhearted and to those whose spirit has been crushed. This same God is with you today in whatever test, trial, or pain you are experiencing. Call us if you could use someone to walk with you during this hard time. Lutheran Family Service - www.LutheranFamilyService.org

 

LECTIONARY SUMMARY (Proper 19)

Old Testament: Genesis 50:15-21

After their father Jacob’s death, Joseph speaks words of forgiveness and of God’s goodness to his repentant brothers.

 

Epistle: Romans 14:1-12

St. Paul instructs us to use our Christian freedom to help others, not judge them. 

 

Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35

Jesus tells the parable of the ungrateful debtor to teach His disciples about forgiveness. 

 

LCMS MEMORY VERSE CHALLENGE

But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9

 

LESSONS ON THE LITURGY 

Forgive Us Our Trespasses

We, and many Christian denominations with us, pray in the Lord’s Prayer: forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. You may know some Christians, however, who pray: forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. The reason for this difference is because when Jesus delivers His prayer to the disciples in Matthew 6 He uses the word for a financial debt to describe our sins against God.  Jesus, though, does not have in mind an amount of money we owe God. Rather, because of our sins we owe God the penalty for trespassing, or transgressing, His holy will.  Therefore those Christians who pray literally: forgive us our debts, and those Christians who pray according to the sense of the word: forgive us our trespasses, are both praying a faithful prayer to God who hears us and promises to answer us. 

 

FROM THE BOOK OF CONCORD

Large Catechism, The Lord's Prayer, paragraphs 93-97

There is a necessary, yet comforting addition: "As we forgive." He has promised that we shall be sure that everything is forgiven and pardoned, in the way that we also forgive our neighbor. Just as we daily sin much against God, and yet He forgives everything through grace, so we, too, must ever forgive our neighbor who does us injury, violence, and wrong, shows malice toward us, and so on. If, therefore, you do not forgive, then do not think that God forgives you [Matt. 18:23-25]. But if you forgive, you have this comfort and assurance, that you are forgiven in heaven. This is not because of your forgiving. For God forgives freely and without condition, out of pure grace, because He has so promised, as the Gospel teaches. But God says this in order that He may establish forgiveness as our confirmation and assurance, as a sign alongside of the promise, which agrees with this prayer, in Matt. 6:14, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you."

     This sign is therefore attached to this petition. When we pray, we remember the promise and think, "Dear Father, for this reason I come and pray for You to forgive me, not so that I can make satisfaction or can merit anything by my works. I pray because You have promised and attached the seal to this prayer that I should be as sure about it as though I had Absolution pronounced by You Yourself."