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 THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 1, 2022
O God, through the humiliation of Your Son You raised up the fallen world. Grant to Your faithful people, rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joys; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
LET US PRAY FOR…
Trinity, Algona and their pastoral vacancy Those suffering in Ukraine |
THIS WEEK AT ST. JOHN’S Today, May 1, 2022 8:30am SSchool/Adult Class 9:30 am Divine Service 3:00pm Partnership Voters Meeting at Trinity Tuesday, May 3, 2022 10:00 a.m. Morning Prayer Wednesday, May 4, 2022 6:30pm Christian Catechesis -Trinity | Sunday, May 8, 2022 8:30am SSchool/Adult Class 9:30am Divine Service THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH YEAR May 1 - Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles May 2 - Commemoration of Athanasius of Alexandria May 4 - Commemoration of Friedrich Wyneken, Pastor and Missionary May 5- Commemoration of Frederick the Wise May 7 - Commemoration of C.F.W. Walther |
ST. JOHN’S NEWS
Organist Today: Kitty Bierstedt
Elder: Tony Hatten
Greeters: Terry and Vicki Briggs
Flowers on the Altar this morning were given by Vern and Joan Koestler in celebration of their 25th Wedding Anniversary on Tuesday, May 3.
Congregational Partnership Meeting - You are invited to attend a special joint voters meeting of St. John’s and Trinity in the Trinity Life Center in Algona on May 1 at 3:00 p.m. The purpose of this voters meeting is to vote to adopt an updated Partnership Agreement. A draft of this Agreement is available on the back table for you to take and review. President Steve Turner will join us for this meeting to provide guidance on this process as well.
Card Shower - The family of Vern and Joan Koestler are having a card shower in honor of their 25th Wedding Anniversary. Cards can reach them at: 504 Minnesota St., Burt, Iowa 50522.
Sunday School will have their final class Sunday, May 8th and the Adult Bible Study on the 15th before they break for summer. We will have more information coming soon about an additional opportunity for Bible study and prayer during the summer weeks.
Parish Messenger for the May/June edition is on the table in the back of the church. Please, pick one up!
Lily - Anyone who wants to have an Easter lily to plant outside, please talk to Vickie Madsen.
A Volunteer is Needed to take over replenishing and purchasing cards for the card rack in the back of the church. If you are interested, contact the church office. We want to thank Mary Schmidt for her many years of purchasing and displaying the cards for all to use.
Lenten Charity Project - We have exceeded our goal to provide the book Treasury of C.F.W. Walther, Volume II: Festival Sermons and Prayers from the Lent through Easter Seasons, to each new pastor of both seminaries. Thanks so much for donating a total of $1740.00.
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.
Thank you for the Easter basket and breads. Thank you for remembering me. A Blessed Easter to all. Christ is Risen. Hallelujah! Love Joy Peace in Christ. Henry W Friedrich.
Thrivent Project - St. John’s and the Burt Presbyterian Church are hosting a giving project for the Kossuth County Food Pantry. A monetary and food collection will be held on Sunday May 8 and 15. An offering plate and box for food items will be set up in back. All checks should be made out to the Kossuth Food Pantry. For more information contact Deb Steven or Mary Schmidt.
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.
Summer Prayer and Scripture Series - See the handout on the back table for a handout about a special opportunity to gather for prayer and Scripture in the summer months.
Highway Clean-up - The rescheduled partnership highway clean-up day is Saturday, May 14 at 10 a.m. Please contact Pastor Cowell if you are interested in helping and he will get you more information.
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!
Camp News:
· Summer Staff Needed! We are still recruiting Summer Staff at Camp Okoboji. If you know a High School Senior or College student who is looking for summer employment, we are looking for Summer Staff at Camp. You may call Camp for more information - 712-337-3325.
· Volunteer Work Weekend at Camp May 6-8 - The summer season is ahead and it’s time to get ready! Consider coming to Camp to give of your time and talents to maintain and sustain camp. come for the day or come for an hour-any and all help will be appreciated
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 Since President Kennedy first declared it so in 1963, May has been recognized as Older Americans’ Month. Older people provide valuable resources in our church, community, and family life through their wealth of knowledge, life experience, work ethic, faith, and generosity. Those who are not able to be as active as they once were still provide priceless hours of prayer and lots of love. Take some time this week to remember, celebrate and thank God for the gift of every “seasoned citizen” in your life. Thank them for all they have done and continue to do! Lutheran Family Service - www.LutheranFamilyService.org.
LECTIONARY SUMMARY (Easter 3)
Old Testament: Acts 9:1-22
Jesus appears to Saul on the road to Damascus.
Epistle: Revelation 5:1-14
The host of heaven worship the Lamb who was slain, who is worthy to open the seven seals of the scroll.
Gospel: John 21:1-14 (15-19)
The risen Jesus eats breakfast with the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius.
FROM THE CHURCH FATHERS
“When to the number of 10, representing the Law, we add the Holy Spirit as represented by 7, we have 17. And when this number is used for the adding together of every serial number it contains, from 1 up to itself, the sum amounts to 153. For if you add 2 to 1, you have 3 of course. If to these you add 3 and 4, the whole makes 10, etc. … All therefore who are sharers in such grace are symbolized by this number, that is, are symbolically represented. This number has, besides, three times over, the number of 50, and 3 in addition, with reference to the mystery of the Trinity; while, again, the number of 50 is made up by multiplying 7 by 7, with the addition of 1, for 7 times 7 make 49. And the 1 is added to show that there is one who is expressed by 7 on account of his sevenfold operation. And we know that it was on the fiftieth day after our Lord’s ascension that the Holy Spirit was sent, for whom the disciples were commanded to wait according to the promise. It was not, then, without a purpose that these fishes were described as so many in number, and so large in size, that is, as both 153 and large.” - Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John 122.8-9, qtd. in ACCS: John 11-21, p. 381-2.
LESSONS ON THE LITURGY
Confirmation
Since many Lutheran congregations have Confirmation Sunday during the Easter season, here is an explanation from the Lutheran Worship: Altar Book on the rite of Confirmation. “Confirmation is a public rite of the Church that is preceded by a period of instruction designed to help baptized Christians identify with the life and mission of the Christian community. Having been instructed in the Christian faith prior to admission to the Lord’s Supper, the rite of Confirmation provides an opportunity for the individual Christian, relying on God’s promise of Holy Baptism, to make a personal public confession of the faith and a lifelong pledge of fidelity to Christ.”
FROM THE BOOK OF CONCORD
Large Catechism, Part II: The Creed, Article II, paragraphs 26-27, 30-31
If you are asked, "What do you believe in the Second Article about Jesus Christ?" answer, "I believe that Jesus Christ, God's true Son, has become my Lord." "But what does it mean to become Lord?" "It is this. He has redeemed me from sin, the devil, death, and all evil. Before I did not have a Lord or King, but was captive under the devil's power, condemned to death, stuck in sin and blindness". [...]
So those tyrants and jailers are all expelled now. In their place has come Jesus Christ, Lord of life, righteousness, every blessing, and salvation. He has delivered us poor, lost people from hell's jaws, has won us, has made us free, and has brought us again into the Father's favor and grace. He has taken us as His own property under His shelter and protection so that He may govern us by His righteousness, wisdom, power, life, and blessedness.
The word Lord means simply the same as redeemer. It means the One who has brought us from Satan to God, from death to life, from sin to righteousness, and who preserves us in the same. But all the points in this article serve to explain and express this redemption. They explain how and by whom it was accomplished. They explain how much it cost Him and what He spent and risked so that He might win us and bring us under His dominion.
