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 FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT
April 3, 2022
Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; 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, April 3, 2022 8:30 a.m. Adult Class/Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Divine Service Monday, April 4, 2022 6:30 p.m. Council Meeting Tuesday, April 5, 2022 10:00 a.m. Morning Prayer Wednesday, April 6, 2022 5:00 p.m. Midweek Lenten Service 6:30 p.m. Christian Catechesis (at Trinity) | Thursday, April 7, 2022 9:15 a.m. Algona Nursing Homes Sunday, April 10, 2022 8:30 a.m. Adult Class/Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Divine Service THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH YEAR April 6, 2022 Commemoration of Lucas Cranach, Albrecht Durer, Artists |
ST. JOHN’S NEWS
Organist Today: Kitty Bierstedt
Elder: Boyd Shipler
Asst. Usher: Lynn Bierstedt
Greeters: Tony and Stefanie Hatten & family
Tuesday Morning Prayer will be held on Tuesday, April 5 at 10:00 a.m.
Midweek Lenten Service will be held at St. John’s Wednesday, April 6 at 5:00 p.m.
Our Council Meeting is Monday, April 4th at 6:30 p.m. in the church basement.
The Voter’s Meeting will be held Sunday, April 24 following the service.
Lent Schedule - Feel free to take and share as many Lent schedules, invitations, magnet clips, and devotion books as you would like on the back table.
Ukraine Refugee Support - We will be collecting a special offering in the back of church for the next two Sundays which will go to support the needs of refugees displaced by the war in Ukraine.
Thank You - Be sure to check out the picture of “The Last Supper” that was made and donated by Dorothy Jahnke. This picture is hanging in the hall by Pastor’s office. A heartfelt thank you to Dorothy for this wonderful gift to St. John’s!
Easter Flowers - We would like to thank Vickie Madsen for volunteering to be our new person in charge of flowers. If you would like to furnish flowers during the year, please contact Vickie.
Easter Egg Hunt Donations - If you would like to donate bars or drinks for the Easter egg hunt you can sign up on the back table.
Lenten Charity Project - During the season of Lent St. John’s will be raising money to purchase a book for every seminary student who is receiving a pastoral call this spring. You can read more about this project and see the book we will be purchasing on the back table. You can give to this mission during our Wednesday Lenten services or by designating a gift to “Lent Charity Project” on your envelope. Note: Goal has been met of $1570 collected so far with 1 more service for you to give to. By continuing to give we will be able to reach out to more Pastors.
Easter Egg Hunt - St. John’s Board of Education invites your children, grandchildren, and neighbors to an Easter Egg Hunt! The event will be Saturday, April 16th at 10:00 a.m. near the St. John’s garage. After the egg hunt we will enjoy refreshments!
Easter Breakfast - You are all invited to breakfast on Easter morning from 8-9:15 a.m. before the Divine Service on Easter Sunday, April 17. We will be serving: eggs, smokies, muffins, juice and coffee. Come and have breakfast with us! This year’s breakfast is hosted by The Board of Education and students.
Portals of Prayer for the April-June edition are available in the back along the east wall.
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.
SYNOD, DISTRICT & PARTNERSHIP NEWS
Trinity Bible Study - Join Pastor Cowell Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. for Bible study at Trinity’s Life Center conference room.
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!
Silent Auction of Quilts/Crafts - Trinity Quilters are hosting a silent auction in Trinity’s office lobby. Proceeds will help support Trinity youth attending the Youth Gathering in Houston. Winners will be announced on April 6 during Lenten Supper.
Prayers are needed for Pastor Andrew Johnson whose cancer has relapsed and will be receiving chemo treatments at Mayo. He will be undergoing a tandem autologous stem cell transplant requiring him to be in Rochester for 10 weeks.
Building Healthy Families - According to a national survey in 2019, 61% of Americans reported feeling frequently lonely. And if that weren’t already unwelcome news, the COVID pandemic which required all of us to practice “social distancing,” “self-isolation,” and “sheltering in place” have made it oh so much worse. If you are suffering, know you aren’t alone. And know that there is help! Contact Lutheran Family Service to schedule a time to talk with a counselor in person or through a telehealth link from your own home. If you’re not suffering, look around and see who is. Find time this week to share your company, a listening ear, and words of encouragement with them. Recall Jesus’ promise for them and for you: “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 Lutheran Family Service - www.LutheranFamilyService.org.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Concert - The Burt Presbyterian Church will host a concert by the award winning Christian Vocal Duo of Blake & Jenna Bolerjack tonight (April 3, 2022) at 6:30 p.m.
LECTIONARY SUMMARY (Lent 5)
Old Testament: Isaiah 43:16-21
The Lord is doing a new thing. He is making a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Epistle: Philippians 3:4b-14
St. Paul counts everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord.
Gospel: Luke 20:9-20
Jesus tells the parable of the wicked tenants of the vineyard.
FROM THE CHURCH FATHERS
“The farm was given to other farmers. Who are they? I answer the company of the holy apostles, the preachers of the evangelical commandments, the ministers of the new covenant. They were the teachers of a spiritual service, and knew how to instruct people correctly and blamelessly and to lead them most excellently to everything that is pleasing to God. [...] The God of all plainly reveals that the farm was given to other farmers and not only to the holy apostles but also to those who come after them, although they are not from Jewish blood. He says by the voice of Isaiah to the church of the Gentiles and to the remnant of Israel, ‘Aliens shall stand and feed your flocks, foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers.’ Many were called from the Gentiles, and holy people from their number became teachers and instructors. Even to this day, people of Gentile race hold high place in the churches. They are sowing the seeds of piety to Christ in the hearts of believers and making the nations entrusted to their care into beautiful vineyards in the sight of God.” - Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Homily 134, qtd. in ACCS: Luke, p. 306.
LESSONS ON THE LITURGY
Prayer before the study of God’s Word
Here is a great prayer from our hymnal (p. 312) to use as you begin to read or study God’s Word:
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, without Your help our labor is useless, and without Your light our search is in vain. Invigorate our study of Your holy Word that, by due diligence and right discernment, we may establish ourselves and others in Your holy faith; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
FROM THE BOOK OF CONCORD
Large Catechism, First Commandment, paragraphs 24-26
Remember the meaning of this commandment: We are to trust in God alone and look to Him and expect from Him nothing but good, as from one who gives us body, life, food, drink, nourishment, health, protection, all necessaries, and peace of both temporal and eternal things. He also preserves us from misfortune. And if any evil befall us, He delivers and rescues us. So it is God alone from whom we receive all good and by whom we are delivered from all evil. So, I think, we Germans from ancient times name God (more elegantly and appropriately than any other language) from the word Good. It is as though He were an eternal fountain that gushes forth abundantly nothing but what is good. And from that fountain flows forth all that is and is called good. Even though we experience much good from other people, whatever we receive by God's arrangement or command is all received from God. For our parents and all rulers and everyone else, with respect to his neighbor, have received from God the command that they should do us all kinds of good. So we receive these blessings not from them, but through them, from God. For creatures are only the hands, channels, and means by which God gives all things. So He gives to the mother breasts and milk to offer to her child, and He gives corn and all kinds of produce from the earth for nourishment. None of these blessings could be produced by any creature of itself.
