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 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY

January 30, 2022

 

Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; 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, January 30, 2022   8:15/8:30 a.m.  Adult/Sunday School   9:30 a.m.            Divine Service      Tuesday, February 1, 2022   10:00 a.m.          Morning Prayer     Wednesday, February 2, 2022     6:00 p.m.          Christian Catechesis

Sunday, February 6, 2022      8:15/8:30 a.m.   Adult/Sunday School      9:30 a.m.             Divine Service     THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH YEAR        February 2, 2022     Feast of The Purification of Mary and              the Presentation of our Lord       February 5, 2022     Commemoration of Jacob (Israel),         Patriarch

 

 

ST. JOHN’S NEWS

 

Organist Today: Marcia Hanna 

Elder:  Tony Hatten 

Asst. Usher:  John Schutter   

Acolytes: Breckin and Brayton Borchardt  

Greeters: Lynn and Kitty Bierstedt

 

Sunday Bible Study - Join us Sunday mornings at 8:15 a.m. in the church basement for adult Bible Study. We are studying  a new series on Christian ethics.

 

Tuesday Morning Prayer will be held this week, February 1, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.  

 

Flower Position Open - If you have an interest in helping order and care for the altar flowers, Christmas poinsettias, palm branches, and Easter lilies, please speak with Janice Reimers who can give you a more detailed description of the job.  We would love to have a volunteer for this position as soon as possible! 

 

Lutheran Witness Renewal - The yearly subscription to the Lutheran Witness will come due on March 1, 2022.  To be able to continue to receive  without interruption your copy, you may pay in the church office during the next several weeks.  The cost this year is $22.70.  If you do not receive the Witness and would like to or wish to cancel you may also do that in the office.

 

Hymn of the Month devotions for January are available along the east wall.

 

Flocknote Prayer Chain Coordinator Wanted - Want to help send out prayer requests to our congregation on Flocknote? Talk to Pastor Cowell; it’s a lot easier than you might think! 

 

Pastoral Care On Demand - Need prayer, Scripture, Communion, Absolution, or a listening ear? Feel free to call or text Pastor Cowell anytime for a visit at 319-464-5548.

 

A New Birthday Card sign-up sheet is now available on the back table.  If you would be willing to take a month or two to fill out birthday cards, please sign up.  Any questions contact office.

 

New Library Books - Check out the church library as over a dozen new books enter circulation throughout the next few weeks.  Pastor Cowell would be happy to share his recommendations with you!

 

Thank You!  We are amazed at the outpouring of support for people in need, demonstrated by the response to our invitation to say “Yes” to men, women, and children who need our help as we close out the year and look toward 2022. Your love and care for people-and your generosity-shine through your gift of $800.00 will be able to help people because of you. Thank you, and may he bless you richly today and in the New Year ahead!  

                    Rev. Max Phillips, Executive Director of Lutheran Family Service

 

2021 Thrivent Choice Dollars must be directed by March 31. Consider joining others who have directed their Dollars toward St. John’s  ministry.

 

Thank You! On behalf of the David’s Harp Board of Directors and staff I want to thank you sincerely for your generous gift at Christmastime. Your support is greatly appreciated and extremely helpful!  We are currently in the middle of working on our first liturgy volume that will include settings for Divine Service III and Matins. This volume will be just like our “Hymns of the Season” volumes in the sense of faded musical settings. We know of the great need for simplified liturgies all over the world, in both national and international missions. We pray this volume will be a blessing to the church. Your donation is going to help bring this volume to the church at Easter of this year. God be praised! The Lord bless and keep you all!

                                          Sincerely, Rev. Nathan Sherrill, Director, David’s Harp

 

SYNOD, DISTRICT & PARTNERSHIP NEWS

 

TLC Quilts Available - Don’t forget about the TLC Quilter’s “giving pew” by the east doors of St. John’s.  Feel free to take and give away as many quilts and bears as you’d like!  

 

Right to Life Rally - The Kossuth County right to Life continues to give thanks for our many blessings, our joys and our sufferings. We pray that the Lord may bless the efforts of all in Kossuth County who promote the right to life in the small part of the world entrusted to their care.  We will be holding a Pro Life Rally today January 30 at 2:30 p.m. in the Columbia Events Center, 1501 E Walnut St. Algona, Iowa. Featured speaker today will be Rachel Johnson, Care Transition Coordinator for St. Croix Hospice. She grew up in Kanawha and found her path to hospice in 2010, where healthcare and providing care to others is her passion. All are invited for prayer, music, fellowship, and refreshments

 

Did You Know - Having faith and being a Christian doesn’t mean we will never make mistakes. It means that through our mistakes, we experience God’s grace and mercy, which are ours in Christ. This week, look for opportunities to practice mercy, grace, and forgiveness in your family. Lutheran Family Service - www.LutheranFamilyService.org.

 

LECTIONARY SUMMARY (Epiphany 4)

Old Testament: Jeremiah 1:4-10 (17-19)

The Lord calls Jeremiah to be a prophet to the people. 

 

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13

St. Paul explains the substance and importance of love. 

 

Gospel: Luke 4:31-44

Jesus heals a man with an unclean demon and many others. 

 

FROM THE CHURCH FATHERS

“[Jesus] would not permit the unclean demons to confess him. It was not right for them to usurp the glory of the apostolic office or to talk of the mystery of Christ with polluted tongues. Yes, nothing they say is true. Let no one trust them. Light cannot be recognized with the help of darkness, as the disciple of Christ teaches us, where he says, ‘What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?’” - Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Homily 12, qtd. in ACCS: Luke, 85. 

 

LESSONS ON THE LITURGY 

Rubrics

Rubric is Latin for “red”.  These are the liturgical instructions in our hymnal that are written in red.  Rubrics often give us direction on how to move during the service.  These rubrics are useful because they allow the liturgy to flow like a beautiful and well-rehearsed symphony rather than having the pastor frequently pause the liturgy to direct traffic. – The content of this lesson comes from Scot Kinnaman, Worshiping with Angels and Archangels: An Introduction to the Divine Service, 7.

FROM THE BOOK OF CONCORD

Smalcald Articles, Part 3, Article III: Repentance, paragraphs 1-4

The New Testament keeps and urges this office ‹of the Law›, as St. Paul says, "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men". Also, "the whole world may be accountable to God….No human being will be justified in His sight." And, Christ says, the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin.

     This is God's thunderbolt. By the Law He strikes down both obvious sinners and false saints. He declares no one to be in the right, but drives them all together to terror and despair. Jeremiah says, "Is not My word like… a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" This is not active contrition or manufactured repentance. It is passive contrition, true sorrow of heart, suffering, and the sensation of death.

     This is what true repentance means. Here a person needs to hear something like this, "You are all of no account, whether you are obvious sinners or saints ‹in your own opinions›. You have to become different from what you are now. You have to act differently than you are now acting, whether you are as great, wise, powerful, and holy as you can be. Here no one is godly."

     To the Law, the New Testament immediately adds the consoling promise of grace through the Gospel. Christ declares, "Repent and believe in the gospel". Become different, act differently, and believe My promise.