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 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
January 15, 2023
Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace through all our days; 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 15, 2023 8:30 am Sunday School/Adult Class 9:30 am Divine Service 10:30 am Voter’s Meeting Tuesday, January 17, 2023 10:00 am Morning Prayer Wednesday, January 18, 2023 6:00 pm Fish Fry at St. John’s | Sunday, January 22, 2023 8:30 am Sunday School/Adult Class 9:30 am Divine Service THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH YEAR January 18, 2023 Feast of the Confession of St. Peter January 20, 2023 Commemoration of Sarah |
ST. JOHN’S NEWS
Organist Today: Marcia Hanna ~ Elder: Tony Hatten
Acolytes Today: Ryder and Taylor Parsons - Assistant Usher: Jerry Koestler
Greeters Today: Al and Peggy Schadendorf
Greeters next Week: Boyd and Rosann Shipler
Pastoral Vacancy - Pastor Adam Barkley will not be joining us as our Partnership associate pastor. Please pray for Pastor Barkley as he continues to serve God’s kingdom in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Our Partnership is now proceeding to submit our application to receive a seminary graduate to be our associate pastor. We will know if our request will be fulfilled by late April.
A Voter’s Meeting will be held today 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.
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 will be assigning Greeters/Ushers in the areas that are not filled out this coming week. So be sure to sign up today where you wish to be a greeter for the new year.
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 by January 29th.
Lenten Midweek Meal - The St. John’s council has decided to host Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday services at St. John’s and to join our friends at Trinity for the Wednesday midweek Lenten services. A meal is provided in the Life Center before these services. This meal is cooked and served by different service groups with the freewill donation going to their cause. Our congregation has volunteered to serve the meal on Wednesday, March 29th with our freewill donation going to a cause yet to be determined. If you or a group of friends would like to be the coordinator/s for this project (plan the meal, gather volunteers, etc.), please see the details on the “St. John’s Help Wanted” board along the ramp.
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.
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 am 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 Okoboji News -
· Family Fun Fest - January 27, 2023
Get to know Camp Okoboji while enjoying family activities including inflatables, sledding, Ping Pong Tournament, cookie decorating, smores station, indoor yard games, and a meal. If you hear the call, Camp is still looking for Volunteers to assist with the Family Fun Fest activities!! (10:00AM to 2:00PM in conjunction with Okoboji Winter Games)
· Camp Okoboji Ice Fishing Retreat - January 27-29, 2023
For families or individuals of all sizes and ages who love to fish or want to learn!!
Expect good food, good fellowship, and good fishing for this weekend retreat.
Pastor Ben Dose of Zion - Arcadia & Pastor Jim Stogdill of Messiah - Johnston will be
our Camp and Bible Study leaders. Register online or call the office at (712) 337-3325.
· Volunteer Coordinator has been hired. I am happy to announce that Mary Milbrandt is going to be our new Volunteer Coordinator. We welcome Mary as part of our team at Camp Okoboji!
Did You Know - Someone somewhere counted, and now we know that on average, a child smiles about four hundred times each day. Smiling - and a happy heart - are known to bring health benefits such as decreased stress hormones in your bloodstream and lower blood pressure. Smile often and enjoy the many benefits! “A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.” Proverbs 15:13 Lutheran Family Service - www.LutheranFamilyService.org.
For Your Reflection:
THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
LECTIONARY SUMMARY
God Reveals His Glory in Christ and His Cross
“The Lord, the Redeemer of Israel,” calls forth “his Holy One” (Is. 49:7), Jesus, the Christ, “from the womb” of His mother (Is. 49:1). The incarnate Son of God is revealed as the Savior, not only for Israel but also “as a light for the nations,” whose salvation reaches “to the end of the earth” (Is. 49:6). John came “baptizing with water” (John 1:31) to reveal Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), and who glorifies His God and Father by His atoning sacrifice upon the cross. When Jesus was baptized in the waters of the Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended “from heaven like a dove” and “remained on him” (John 1:32). By our Baptism, we are anointed by the same Spirit, adopted by God the Father, and “called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:9). Therefore, we “are not lacking in any gift,” but we can trust Him who promises to sustain us to the end, “guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:7–8).
DOCTRINE OF THE DAY
Universal Grace
Holy Scripture and our Lutheran Confessions teach that God offers the promise of salvation by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus to all people. Lutheran theologian Francis Pieper summarizes this doctrine in this way: “God’s gracious disposition in Christ is not limited to a part of mankind, but extends over all men without exception. Saving grace is universal grace (Christian Dogmatics II, p. 21).” Two foundational texts of Scripture that teach this doctrine are John 3:16, and John 1:29 from our Gospel lesson today: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Any Christian of a Calvinist or Reformed tradition denies the true doctrine of universal grace, and ought to be lovingly corrected for the good of their faith.
LESSON ON THE LITURGY
Preaching Styles
Have you ever noticed how different pastors deliver their sermons in significantly different ways? Even one pastor can vary his style from sermon to sermon. This begs the question: is there a best way to deliver a sermon? As it turns out, the best way to preach a sermon is the way that delivers the truths of the Biblical texts of the day in the most faithful and clear way to the people. This can happen in a variety of different styles for different preachers and different hearers.
CHAT WITH THE CHURCH FATHERS
Ambrose says in his letter to a certain Irenaeus:
The world was subject to God by the Law because, according to the command of the Law, all are indicted. And yet, by the works of the Law, no one is justified. For, by the Law, sin is perceived, but guilt is not taken away. The Law, which declared all people sinners, seemed to have done harm. But when the Lord Jesus Christ came, He forgave to all people the sin, which no one could avoid. And, by the shedding of His own blood, He blotted out the handwriting that was against us. This is what he says in Romans 5:20, "The law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more." After the whole world became subject, Christ took away the sin of the whole world, as John testified in John 1:29, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" For this reason let no one boast about works, because no one is justified by his deeds. He who is righteous has righteousness given to him because he was justified from the washing of Baptism. Faith, therefore, is that which frees through the blood of Christ, because he is blessed "whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" (Psalm 32:1).
Ambrose clearly denies justification to works and teaches that faith sets us free through the blood of Christ.
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article IV: Justification, paragraphs 103-104.
St. John’s Lutheran Church – Burt, IA.
Phone: 515-924-3344
Email: churchoffice@stjohnsburt.org
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