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 IN ADVENT
December 18, 2022
Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
ST. JOHN’S NEWS
Organist Today: Marcia Haana
Elder: Boyd Shipler
Usher: Jeff Madsen
Greeters Today: Lucas & Jesse Parsons
Greeters Next Sunday: Hannah Cowell & girls
Call Extended - On Sunday, December 11th our Partnership congregations voted to extend a call to Pastor Adam Barkley of Luther Memorial and Grace Lutheran Churches, Sheboygan, Wisconsin to be our Partnership Associate Pastor. We also voted at this meeting that if Pastor Barkley were to decline our call, we would be submitting our application for a seminary graduate to serve us. Please pray for Pastor Barkley that God give him wisdom to discern where he might best serve the Kingdom.
Job Opening - January 1, 2023 - We are looking for someone who would like to clean the church. This is an approximate 3-4 hours a week, sometimes less in the summer months. If this is something you would like to do please talk to trustee, Randy Reimers.
Lutherans in Africa Silent Auction - Our Partnership congregations ended up donating $2,250 to Lutherans in Africa through the auction of the four hand-carved items given to us by Pastor May. Thank you for your generosity and continued support of LIA!
Adopted Family - The gifts were wrapped and packed up and delivered this week for our adopted family. We wish to thank each of you for the most generous gifts and donations to this family. We praise God for all of you! Deb Steven and Doris Blocker
St. John’s Ice Fishing Day - Join us on Wednesday, December 28th at 1:00 p.m. for a day of ice fishing! We’ll meet at St. John’s and then carpool to either Emmetsburg or Fairmont depending on ice conditions. Lucas Parsons will guide us to catch lots of fish in the comfort of heated tents! For more information and to sign up, please contact Hannah Cowell by Monday, December 26th. Cost is $25 per adult, kids free. If you have fishing questions, be sure to ask Lucas!
Children's Bibles - There are copies of a children’s Bible: 100 Bible Stories on the back table. Feel free to give these as gifts to any child you think could use a Bible this Christmas! You’re welcome to give a freewill donation to the St. John’s offering for the books if you wish.
Sunday School and Adult Bible Class will not meet on Christmas Day and New Years Day. We will continue our class on January 8 at 8:30 a.m.
“This Is My Son” Advent/Christmas Daily Devotional Booklets are now available on the back table. Feel free to take one with you!
Greeter and Usher sign-up lists are now available in the back for the 2023 year. Please, feel free to fill your name in more than once.
Parish Messenger Articles are due to Linda Kerkove for the January/February edition today (December 18, 2022).
“Share the Blessing” letter and giving envelope is on the small table in the back. This is a special offering to the church during the harvest time, previously known as “Corn, Bean, Cash.”
Portals of Prayer Booklets for January/February are now available in back on the east wall.
A Partnership Advent and Christmas service schedule is on the table in the back.
Year-End Reports - The end of the year is upon us! If you’re responsible for a report for the annual yearbook, please be working on them and email them to the church office at churchoffice@stjohnsburt.org.
Boxes of Christmas Cards and Individual Cards are now available for you to purchase in the back on the east wall. Money envelopes available and should be given to Rosann Shipler. Prices are marked on the boxed and for the individual cards.
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.
St. John’s Help Wanted List - Our “help wanted” volunteer lists have moved to the bulletin board by the ramp. Check them out to see if you’re able to help, and look out for new tasks to be added periodically. Talk to Pastor Cowell if you have a help-wanted suggestion of your own!
SYNOD, DISTRICT & PARTNERSHIP NEWS
Trinity Bible Study meets Wednesday mornings at 9:30 in the Life Center conference room. There will be no class Dec. 28 or Jan. 4.
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 - As it is with sadness that Kim Warnke will be resigning from her role as Volunteer Coordinator in near future. If you are interested or know of someone who might have an interest in serving at camp, please direct your inquiries to myself kirk.campokoboji @gmail.com or 515-408-5790.
Building Healthy Families -Building Healthy Families: Thinking about how best to answer your children’s questions about Santa? Not sure yourself? In these days of confusing messages from unreliable sources and re-written histories that often leave us not knowing what to believe, here is a true story that you, your children, and grandchildren need to know and remember. The Real St. Nick: Leader, Legend, or Lie? is a 25-minute video (and single-session Bible study), hosted by the Rev. Dr. Ken Klaus-former Speaker of The Lutheran Hour, which examines a man who, next to Jesus Christ, is the most visible figure during the holidays—St. Nicholas or Santa Claus—as we know him in Western culture. Dating back to the third century, St. Nick is attributed with the doing of many benevolent and charitable acts of kindness and generosity. Lutheran Family Service - www.LutheranFamilyService.org.
For Your Reflection:
THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT
LECTIONARY SUMMARY
God’s Word Is Fulfilled for Us in the Flesh and Blood of Christ Jesus, the Son of Mary
The Fourth Sunday in Advent turns our attention toward the Nativity of Our Lord. With the blessed Virgin Mary, we await the coming of the Christ, her Son, conceived in her womb by the Word and Spirit of God. This fulfillment of the sign once given to the house of David, that “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Is. 7:14), is now given to us in the Gospel. It declares that salvation is by His grace alone, entirely His work and a free gift. It also is the way and means by which the Lord our God is Immanuel, “God with us.” The almighty and eternal Son of God is conceived and born of Mary, and is thus “descended from David according to the flesh” (Rom. 1:3–4). He comes in this way to save us with His own flesh and blood; wherefore, He is called “Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). As Joseph received this sign in faith and immediately “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him” (Matt. 1:24), we also live by faith in this Holy Gospel.
SERMON SENTENCE
Among Joseph and his betrothed, our Lord begins His pattern of making the impossible possible by faith in Him.
LESSON ON THE LITURGY
The Age of Joseph, Guardian of Jesus
Have you ever noticed that in many artistic depictions of Saint Joseph, he is portrayed as an old man? Holy Scripture does not indicate how old Joseph was when the Son of God was born and placed under his care. Yet interestingly, while Joseph is mentioned in the account of the boy Jesus being found in the temple, that is the last time Joseph is mentioned by any of the evangelists. One explanation that gained popularity in the Church, based on this and other factors, is that Joseph was an old man at the time of his betrothal to Mary and died sometime during Jesus’ childhood. Regardless of Joseph’s age, we thank God for his fidelity to his virgin wife, his care and upbringing of our Lord Jesus Christ, his support of his family as a carpenter, and his obedience and faith in God’s plan of salvation.
CHAT WITH THE CHURCH FATHERS
“The Word was made flesh, but how he was made flesh, we do not know. The doctrine from God, I have; the science of it, I do not have. I know that the Word was made flesh; how it was done, I do not know. [...] Isaiah even says, ‘Who can describe his generation?’ What had Isaiah meant then by saying, ‘The virgin shall be with child and bear a son’? He is telling us what has happened, but when he says, ‘who can describe his generation?’ he is revealing to us the fact that he has been born, but how he has been born, we do not know.” - Jerome, Homily on John 1:1-14, qtd. in ACCS: John 1-10, p. 40-41.
St. John’s Lutheran Church – Burt, IA.
Phone: 515-924-3344
Email: churchoffice@stjohnsburt.org
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