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 THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

August 22, 2021

 

Almighty and merciful God, defend Your Church from all false teaching and error that Your faithful people may confess You to be the only true God and rejoice in Your good gifts of life and 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, August 22, 2021  8:00 a.m.  Adult Class   9:00 a.m.  Divine Service  12:00 p.m. Baptism of Amelia Cowell   Tuesday, August 24, 2021  10:00 a.m. Morning Prayer    Wednesday, August 25, 2021   6:00 p.m.  Board of Ed. Meeting

Sunday, August 29, 2021    8:00 a.m.    Adult Class     9:00 a.m.    Divine Service      10:30 a.m.   Rally Day at Smith Lake     THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH YEAR       August 24, 2021 - Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle      August 27, 2021 - Commemoration of Monica, Faithful                                      Mother     August 28, 2021 - Commemoration of Augustine of                                      Hippo, Doctor of the Church

 

 

ST. JOHN’S NEWS

 

Organist Today:  Marcia Hanna    

Elder for August:  Boyd Shipler  

Greeter Today:  Cheryl Batt

 

New Schedule - Beginning Sunday, September 12, Sunday School and adult class will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the Divine Service will begin at 9:30 a.m. 

 

Amelia Opal’s Baptism Day - The congregation is invited to witness the Baptism of Amelia Opal Cowell today at 12:00 p.m.  Lunch in the church basement will immediately follow the Baptism.  

 

Partnership Rally Day at Smith Lake - The entire congregation is invited to our Partnership Rally Day at the east shelter at Smith Lake Sunday, August 29, at 10:30 a.m.  We will begin with a brief prayer service including the installation of Sunday School teachers and presentation of Bibles and Catechism, followed by lunch and games. Bring a lawn chair or blanket!

• Note that we will have our regularly scheduled Divine Service at St. John’s at 9:00 a.m. on this Sunday as well. 

 

Partnership Potluck and Hymn Sing - Join us Wednesday, September 8 at St. John’s for our Partnership Potluck and Hymn Sing!  The potluck begins at 5:30 p.m. in the church basement. Bring a main dish, side, or desert if you’re able.  (Feel free to come later if work prevents you from arriving at 5:30.)  Then, join us at the outdoor altar at 6:30 p.m. for a hymn sing; we'll be taking requests!  Please label your serving dishes if you’d like them back. 

 

St. John’s T-Shirts - If you missed your opportunity to purchase a St. John’s T-shirt a year ago (or you would like a second one!), we now have T-shirts available in the church office. The cost is $6.00 and can be picked up any time.

 

New Resources Available - Take a look at the several new booklets in the pamphlet rack in the back of church.  New titles include, from the A Simple Explanation series: Angels, the Bible, and Church Symbols, and from the A Biblical Response series: Suicide, Addiction, homosexuality, Transgenderism, Divorce, and Abortion. Feel free to take as many of these booklets as you’d like. 

 

New Stained Glass Windows! - You can view pictures of the installation process of our new stained glass windows at: stjohnsburt.org/new-stain-glass-window-installation.html

 

Greeter and Usher Sign-up - We're excited to reintroduce greeters to our Sunday mornings at St. John's!  Your family or you and a friend are welcome to sign up for a Sunday to greet on the back table.  Of course, hand shaking will be optional.  Also, we'd love to have at least one usher per month to help Jeff with duties as needed.  You can sign up for this on the back table as well. 

 

Parish Messenger Articles are due to Linda Kerkove for the September/October edition today.

 

Pastoral Care On Demand - Pastor Cowell would love to serve you Communion at church or at home, pray, read Scripture, offer Christian counsel, and/or just visit any time that works for you!  Call or text him any time at 319-464-5548. 

 

St. John’s Live-streamed Service - The easiest way to access our service livestreams and recordings is to click on the links posted on the homepage of stjohnsburt.org. 

 

SYNOD, DISTRICT & PARTNERSHIP NEWS

 

Trinity, Algona Resources - You can find a variety of digital media for your faith, including service livestreams, at trinityalgona.org or by searching Trinity, Algona on YouTube and Facebook. 

 

Lutherans in Africa Updates - Great things continue to happen at the Lutheran School of Theology in Kenya and throughout the surrounding area for the good of Christ’s Church.  Lutherans in Africa publishes very informative monthly newsletters which you can find at lutheransinafrica.com/updates or by searching @LutheransInAfrica on Facebook.  The lutheransinafrica.com website is also updated regularly and is a great way to stay up to date on the work our mission dollars are supporting. 

 

Did You Know - Lutheran Family Service is 120 years old! Established in 1901 to find loving Christian homes for orphans in the Fort Dodge area, LFS has been serving families ever since! Still providing pregnancy counseling and adoption services, our services have expanded to meet emerging needs through the years include mental health and marriage counseling, life advocacy, teaching and supporting young people, and support for church workers. All this help is provided through gifts that come from people like you – our LCMS partners throughout the state. Your gift, sent by mail to LFS at 409 Kenyon Road, Suite C, Fort Dodge, IA 50501, or made through our web site will be used to serve someone in need this year. Thanking God for His provision for His people through LFS for 120 years! Lutheran Family Service - www.LutheranFamilyService.org.

 

 LECTIONARY SUMMARY (Proper 16)

Old Testament: Isaiah 29:11-19

Isaiah’s vision is like a book that cannot be read, but soon the Lord will cause the deaf to hear it and the blind to see it. 

 

Epistle: Ephesians 5:22-33

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

 

Gospel: Mark 7:1-13

The Pharisees rebuke Jesus’ disciples for eating with defiled (unwashed) hands, and Jesus responds: “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

 

FROM THE CHURCH FATHERS

“So let us devote ourselves to those at peace in their devotion to God, and not to those who seek peace through hypocrisy. For he says in one place: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.’ And again: ‘They blessed with their mouth, but they cursed in their heart.’ And again he says: ‘They flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not true to his covenant.’” - Clement of Rome, The Letter to the Corinthians, 14, qtd. in ACCS: Mark, 97-98 

 

LESSONS ON THE LITURGY 

Why do men serve in the pastoral office?

One of the several reasons God instructs that pastors should be men is that this follows God’s natural order of creation of a husband being the head of a household.  Because Christ is the bridegroom of His bride the Church, it is a man who ought to stand before the people as the representative of Christ the Bridegroom. These truths are confessed in detail in Ephesians chapter five which we hear in the liturgy today, and can be summarized by Eph. 5:23 - “The husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.”

 

FROM THE BOOK OF CONCORD

Large Catechism, Part I: Ten Commandments, Fourth Commandment, para. 108-109, 111-113

     Learn what is the honor towards parents that this commandment requires. We must serve them, help them, and provide for them when they are old, sick, infirm, or poor. We must do all this not only gladly, but with humility and reverence, as doing it before God. For the child who knows how to regard parents in his heart will not allow them to do without, but will share with them whatever he possesses.

     Second, notice how holy a work is assigned to children here. Unfortunately, this is disregarded. No one notices that God has commanded it or that it is a holy, divine doctrine. For if it had been regarded as holy, everyone who lives according to these words must be holy people. There would have been no need to invent monasticism or spiritual orders. Every child would have said, "If I am to do good and holy works, I know of none better than to give all honor and obedience to my parents, because God has Himself commanded it. For what God commands must be much better and far nobler than everything that we may come up with ourselves. Since there is no higher or better teacher to be found than God, there can certainly be no better teaching than what He provides. If, then, it is God who commands this, I will never improve upon it."