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 NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

October 3, 2021

 

Merciful Father, Your patience and loving-kindness toward us have no end. Grant that by Your Holy Spirit we may always think and do those things that are pleasing in Your sight; 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, October 3, 2021    8:30 a.m.   SS School/Adult Class                       9:30 a.m.   Divine Service    Tuesday, October 5, 2021   10:00 a.m.  Morning Prayer    Wednesday, October 6, 2021   6:00 p.m.   Christian Catechesis

Sunday, October 10, 2021      8:30 a.m.    SS School/Adult Class       9:30 a.m.    Divine Service         10:30 a.m.  Council Meeting      1:00   p.m.  Partnership Highway Clean-up     THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH YEAR        October 7, 2021     Commemoration of Henry Melchior          Muhlenberg, Pastor      October 9, 2021     Commemoration of Abraham, Patriarch

 

ST. JOHN’S NEWS

 

Organist Today: Marcia Hanna  

Elder for October: Jerry Koestler 

Acolytes: Caelum Blocker and Zackery Steven

Greeter: Barb Harms  

 

Flowers on the altar today have been given by Lorraine Drager in memory of Eugene, Leonard, Martha and Irene Drager.

 

Portals of Prayer for October-December are now available along the east wall in the back.

 

Worship by Phone - Beginning October 24th, if you would like to receive the audio of the worship service on Sunday through your phone, you will need to dial area code 515 along with the worship-by-phone number of 924-4444, even if you are calling locally. This change is due to a new rule requiring all numbers in the 515 area code to add the area code to all local calls. 

 

Service Livestream Operator Informational Meeting - If you have any interest in assisting with the weekly setup of our service livestreams at St. John’s, or would simply like to learn how to set up a video livestream, please plan to attend a short meeting Sunday, October 24 after church in the church basement. 

 

Flocknote Prayer Chain Coordinator Wanted - St. John’s is looking for a volunteer to be our Flocknote Prayer Chain coordinator.  This volunteer would be responsible for scheduling (in advance) our daily prayer text messages, including creating prayers submitted by members and prayers in light of various contemporary events.  While the volunteer should be comfortable operating the basic functions of a computer, the Flocknote program is very easy to work with and Pastor Cowell will give you a step-by-step training for how to schedule the prayers.  You can expect the time commitment for this position to be around 1-2 hours a month.  Please speak with Pastor Cowell if you are interested in helping in this way. 

 

Quarterly Council Meeting will be held Sunday, October 10, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. The Voter’s Meeting will be held Sunday, October 17, 2021 following the service.

 

Hymn of the Month devotions for October are available on the lectern in the back of church. You can also view a digital version of the Hymn of the Month devotion at:
trinityalgona.org/blog/2021/09/29/rise-my-soul-to-watch-and-pray.

 

New Resources Available - There are several new booklets in the pamphlet rack in the back of church.  Feel free to take as many as you’d like!

 

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.

 

Greeter and Usher Sign-up - There are still plenty of open spots for greeters and ushers! The sign-up sheet is on the back table. 

 

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.  

 

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. 

 

SYNOD, DISTRICT & PARTNERSHIP NEWS

 

Highway Clean-Up - Our fall Partnership highway clean-up day is scheduled for Sunday, October 10 at 1:00 p.m.  This event is open to all ages as long as children have an adult with them (this would make a great Catechesis mercy project!).  When you sign up in the back of church, please indicate if you’ll be meeting in the Trinity or St. John’s parking lot. 

 

Haiti and Ida Relief - If you would like to donate toward the clean-up efforts of the Haiti earthquake or Hurricane Ida, please ask the church office or Pastor Cowell how to do so. 

 

Trinity, Algona Resources - Visit trinitalgona.org or search “Trinity, Algona” on YouTube and Facebook to view Trinity’s several digital resources for your faith. 

 

Did You Know: About 70% of the world is covered by oceans! You may have seen the ocean up close, flown over it, or seen pictures. God speaks of his love and forgiveness in relation to the depths of the sea. The next time you see a picture of or visit the ocean, consider this verse, and remember completely you are loved: “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19 Lutheran Family Service - www.LutheranFamilyService.org.

 

COMMUNITY NEWS

 

Life Chain Sunday - Kossuth County Right to Life invites you to join them today from 2:00-3:00 p.m. for the Algona LIFE CHAIN.  Participants will quietly stand or sit at the corner of State Street and Jones Street in Algona with signs in support of the unborn.  The group will meet in front of Louscher’s Dental Clinic parking lot at 1:30 p.m. to hand out signs and find a place to stand/sit.  If you would like more information about Kossuth County Right to Life, you can contact Jim Lauer at 515-782 3749, or search Kossuth County Right to Life on Facebook. 

Trunk-or-Treat - The Churches of Burt will be hosting a trunk-or-treat in the Presbyterian parking lot in conjunction with the town of Burt's trick-or-treating night: Saturday, October 30 from 5:00-7:00.  The trunk-or-treat will feature candy, a meal you can either sit down and eat or take to-go, and other fun activities.  If you would like to host a trunk or volunteer in any way, please text or call Hannah Cowell at 712-294-4962.

 

LECTIONARY SUMMARY (Proper 22)

Old Testament: Genesis 2:18-25

God creates woman from man’s rib to be a helper fit for him. 

 

Epistle: Hebrews 2:1-18

Jesus is both the Son of God and our brother in the flesh, and is able to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

 

Gospel: Mark 10:2-16

Jesus teaches about divorce and about the place of children in the kingdom of God. 

 

FROM THE CHURCH FATHERS

“‘For a woman is bound, as long as her husband is alive.’ As a consequence, therefore, the husband is also bound, as long as his wife is alive. This bond renders any further union impossible without the implication of adultery.” - Augustine, Adulterous Marriages, 2.9.8, qtd. in ACCS: Mark, 136. 

 

LESSONS ON THE LITURGY 

What is the Bible?

The Bible gathers together the writings of God’s chosen prophets and apostles over a period of more than a thousand years.  Through the Holy Spirit, God Himself gave these writers the thoughts and words they recorded (verbal inspiration), such that the Bible is God’s Word.  For this reason, the Scriptures are both infallible (incapable of error) and inerrant (containing no mistakes).  Holy Scripture is therefore entirely reliable and gives us everything we need to know and believe for Christian faith and life.  See Hebrews 1:1-2; Ephesians 2:19-20; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21. - An Explanation of the Small Catechism (2017), p. 46-47

 

FROM THE BOOK OF CONCORD

Large Catechism, Preface, paragraphs 4-5, 7-8

What would be achieved if we were as negligent and lazy as we were under the papacy?

     To this laziness such preachers add the shameful vice and secret infection of security and contentment. In other words, Many see the catechism as a poor, common teaching, which they can read through once and immediately understand. They can throw the book into a corner and be ashamed to read it again.

     But I say this: I am also a doctor and preacher; yes, as learned and experienced as all the people who have such assumptions. Yet I act as a child who is being taught the catechism. Every morning - and whenever I have time - I read and say, word for word, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Psalms, and such. I must still read and study them daily. Yet I cannot master the catechism as I wish. But I must remain a child and pupil of the catechism, and am glad to remain so. Yet these delicate, refined fellows would in one reading promptly become doctors above all doctors, know everything, and need nothing. Well, this, too, is a sure sign that they despise both their office and the souls of the people. Indeed, they even despise God and His Word. They do not have to fall. They have already fallen all too horribly. They need to become children and begin to learn their alphabet, which they imagine they have long outgrown [Mark 10:15].