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 EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD
January 8, 2023
O God, by the leading of a star You made known Your only-begotten Son to the Gentiles. Lead us, who know You by faith, to enjoy in heaven the fullness of Your divine presence; through the same Jesus Christ, 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 8, 2023 8:30 am Sunday School/Adult Class 9:30 am Divine Service 10:30 am Council Meeting 5:00 pm Children’s Program Tuesday, January 10, 2023 No Morning Prayer 8:30 am Pastor Winkel at LuVerne Wednesday, January 11, 2023 6:00 pm Midweek Catechesis | Sunday, January 15, 2023 8:30 am Sunday School/Adult Class 9:30 am Divine Service 10:30 am Voter’s Meeting THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH YEAR January 10, 2023 Commemoration of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, & Gregory of Nyssa, the Cappadocian Fathers |
ST. JOHN’S NEWS
Organist Today: Kitty Bierstedt
Elder: Tony Hatten
Greeters: Kitty & Lynn Bierstedt
“Light a Candle” Christmas Children’s Program has been rescheduled for this (Sunday, January 8) evening at 5:00 p.m. Please, join us to hear the children tell the story of Jesus Birth in verse and song. A light lunch of soups will be served in the basement following the program.
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.
Installation of all Officers will be held today during the service.
First Quarter Council Meeting will be held following the service today. The Voter’s Meeting will be held next Sunday, January 15 following the service.
St. John’s Fish Fry - Join us on Wednesday, January 18 at 6 pm for a fish fry in the St. John’s basement. Lucas Parsons, our wonderful fishing guide, will also prepare our fish that we caught on December 28. Bring a side or dessert to share! Free will offering to purchase children’s books for evangelism resources.
Midweek Catechesis will be back in session this Wednesday, January 11th.
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. I wish to have them filled out to put in the Annual Report. Rosann, Church Office
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.
Any Address changes for you or family members need to be turned in to the church office to update the Annual Report Roster.
Lutheran Witness Renewal for the new subscription year that provides the current list of subscribers are due. The cost for this year is $26.00 for the year. If you do not get the Witness and wish to or wish to cancel, please contact the church office. Please pay in the church office.
“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.
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 meets Wednesday mornings at 9:30 in the 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!
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 - Depression is associated with many things, but weak faith is not one of them. Martin Luther himself struggled with depression as did many of our other church leaders. If you are feeling depressed, please don’t suffer alone. Luther had the right idea five hundred years ago when he said, “Solitude produces melancholy. When we are alone the worst and saddest things come to mind. We reflect in detail upon all sorts of evils. And if we have encountered adversity in our lives, we dwell upon it as much as possible, magnify it, think that no one is so unhappy as we are, and imagine the worse possible consequences.” Reach out and talk to someone you trust. Your pastor and your team of Lutheran Family Service counselors are here for you, regardless of where you live. Lutheran Family Service - www.LutheranFamilyService.org
For Your Reflection:
THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD
LECTIONARY SUMMARY
The Lord God Is Manifested in the Incarnate Son
The Feast of the Epiphany centers in the visit of the Magi from the East. In that respect, it is a “Thirteenth Day” of Christmas, and yet it also marks the beginning of a new liturgical season. Where Christmas has focused on the incarnation of our Lord, that is, on God becoming flesh, the Season of Epiphany emphasizes the manifestation or self-revelation of God in that same flesh of Christ. For the Lord Himself has entered our darkness and rises upon us with the brightness of His true light (Is. 60:1–2). He does so chiefly by His Word of the Gospel, which He causes to be preached within His Church on earth, not only to the Jews but also to Gentiles (Eph. 3:8–10). As the Magi were guided by the promises of Holy Scripture to find and worship the Christ Child with His mother in the house (Matt. 2:5–11), so does He call disciples from all nations by the preaching of His Word to find and worship Him within His Church (Is. 60:3–6).
SERMON SENTENCE
Just as God led the wiseman to the child Jesus by the guiding light of a star, so too does He guide us to Christ by the guiding light of His Word.
LESSON ON THE LITURGY
House Blessings
There has long been a custom in many Christian traditions to bless houses during the season of Epiphany. This custom is in connection with the celebration of the Magi entering the house of the Holy Family to bless Jesus and present to Him gifts. One custom is to write with chalk “+C+M+B” surrounded by the year on the entrance of the door of each house. So for this year: 20+C+M+B 23. One tradition says these letters stand for the supposed names of the Magi (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar). Another says they stand for Christus mansionem benedicat (Christ bless this house). In any case, a cross or crucifix hung in your entryway with a prayer led by Pastor or the head of the household would be a fine blessing as well!
CHAT WITH THE CHURCH FATHERS
“The return of the magi ‘by another way’ home suggests a spiritual interpretation: As they were advised to take another way, so are we. Our home country is the paradise from which we have fallen. We are forbidden to return to it. When we come to know Jesus, we can return along the way by which he returned. We left our paradise by our pride and disobedience, by overvaluing visible things, by succumbing to the tasting of forbidden fruit. We now can return only by weeping and obedience, rejecting visible things, and by curbing our bodily appetites. So let us, like the magi, return to our home country by another way than the way we left it. Our evil inclination led us away from the joys of paradise. Our turning around in repentance summons us to return by another way. In this way, dearly beloved, we are being awakened to the fear of God. Be vigilant. Set before the eyes of your heart the deceitfulness of your works. Take seriously the severity of the final judgment. Consider how strict a judge is coming. He threatens the impenitent with terror. Yet he still gives them time for repentance. He bears with us. He puts off coming for this reason, that he may find fewer to condemn.” - Gregory the Great, Forty Gospel Homilies, 10.7, qtd. in ACCS: Matthew1-13, p. 30.
St. John’s Lutheran Church – Burt, IA.
Phone: 515-924-3344
Email: churchoffice@stjohnsburt.org
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