St. John's Group Email Friday, February 10, 2012

DEVOTION: 
Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh." Genesis 24:1-2

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our International Ministry Centers to write our Friday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.

In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour




In the entire Old Testament, great value is placed on faithful servants.

Amazingly, in the New Testament, God, Himself, comes to earth in the form of a Servant. Having seen the example of the Redeemer who gave Himself for our salvation, servanthood is seen not just as acceptable, but as the God-given calling of all believers.

Of course, there are standards by which a servant is judged. You will not be surprised if I say the opinion which matters most is that of the master. The opinion of anyone else is simply not of consequence.

So it is when we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, become servants of God. From the moment faith is placed within our hearts, we need no longer care about satisfying anybody else. The only nod of approval we need comes from our Master, the Lord.

If you wish to consider this role of servanthood, may I hold out for your consideration Abraham's own servant. We know he is a good example because Abraham thought the man to be exceptional and put him in charge of all his belongings.

In Exodus 24 Abraham's servant is asked to go and get a wife for Isaac, Abraham's son. If you read the chapter, you will see a number of ways the servant proved himself faithful.

1. He understood his orders. So often we catch a glimpse of a divine mission and dash off without knowing the limits of our assignment. But the experienced servant of Abraham, before setting out on his journey, made sure he understood what he was to do.

2. He knew how to wait. Having placed in God's hands the choice of a wife for his master's son, he held his peace, "... to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful" (Genesis 24:21b). Only after the sign from God was given, did he draw from his saddlebags an enormous ring and two golden bracelets.

3. He put his master's interest first. After the long trek, Abraham's servant was surely tired and hungry. Rebekah's family invited him to stay and enjoy their hospitality. Abraham's servant said, "... 'Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master'" (Genesis 24:56b). Abraham's servant considered what he was doing more than a job; it was something that came ahead of everything else.

Servanthood. In a world where every man considers himself the equal of all, servanthood is a hard concept to grasp. Still it is what we do to glorify the Savior who lived, suffered, died and rose, so we might be freed from the slavery of sin, death and devil.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, Jesus gave Himself for my salvation. Now may my life be thankfully and gladly spent in His service. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Biography of Author: Today's international devotion was written by a dear friend and co-worker of Lutheran Hour Ministries in Uganda: Charles I. Bameka. He has served for years as the director of LHM's effort in Uganda. From its ministry center in Kampala, volunteers and staff reach out helping people in need through Equipping the Saints (ETS), Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC), choir, dramatic presentations and the television program, This is the Life. Ministering to those living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda (there are more than 500,000 afflicted with this condition) is a critical aspect of LHM's mission there.




 
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YESTERDAY'S QUIZ:  Name one of the leaders who became insolent and rose up against Moses, because they thought that Moses and Aaron had set themselves above the rest of the Israelites, saying "You have gone too far!  The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them.  Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly?"  Korah, Dathan and Abiram  (Dolores Deblaze is the new champion.)
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TODAY'S QUIZ:  Why did the snakes bite the people?
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CATECHISM: 
Close of the commandments
Question: How carefully does God want us to keep His commandments?
Answer: perfectly in thoughts, words, and deeds
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CHURCH CALENDAR 
Fri- 7-12 graders and parents begin setting up for the steak dinner/auction at 3pm
Sat-  7-12 grade parents and kids work to get steak dinner/auction ready 10am-6pm; worship 5pm; STEAK DINNER AND AUCTION 6pm
Sun- Bible Study 8; worship 9; Bible Study and Sunday school 10:15; WORSHIP 11am 
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NEWS: 
7th-12th graders please be at church right after school tonight (3pm) to help get ready for the steak dinner and auction.
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PROJECTOR SCHEDULE:  Just a few dates left.  PLEASE SIGN UP!   
 
(Please note that the jr hi kids will be gone the weekend of March 23-25, so they aren't able to project or acolyte.)
 
March 25-  9am-                                            11am-
Mar 31-
Apr 1- (Palm Sunday)  9am-                                     
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BIBLE 101: A NEW ONLINE "INTRODUCTORY" BIBLE STUDY IS AVAILABLE FOR ALL MEMBERS OF ST JOHN'S!!! 
 
Another person signed up yesterday!!!
 
6 PEOPLE SIGNED UP SO FAR!!!
 
 
What is it?  Bible 101 is a new online product from Concordia Publishing House that increases Biblical literacy in adults. 
 
It is for all levels of learning and knowledge.  Even pastors learn things from this course. 
 
 
Participants simply log into Bible 101 and enter an online learning environment.  Members start out by learning essential Bible basics from "square one" and then build upon that as they progress through the course.
 
Here are som of the features of Bible 101
online- uses proven online educational strategies and models that facilitate retention among multiple learning styles.
 
videos- throughout the week, participants can access videos that relate to the lesson
 
discussion forum- participants are not left on their own as they are connected to a community where they can correspond, question, and encourage each other.
 
podcasts- daily devotional for each weekday
 
quizzes- test your knowledge and easily benchmakr where you are in your learning cycle.
 
printing- easily print the materials for even more easy access. 
 
 
Please call or reply to this email to let me know that you want to sign up for this wonderful opportunity.  I will sign you up!  The congregation has already paid the annual fee so IT IS FREE for you!!!
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YOUTH SERVANT EVENT THIS SUMMER!!!!!!   8-12 GRADERS AND ADULT LEADERS WILL BE GOING TO JOPLIN, JULY 9-14!!!
All who want to go need to sign up.  Directions on how to sign up are as follows:
 
1. Go to lutheranchurchcharities.org
2. Click on "volunteer in Joplin"
3. Go to bottom of page and click on "click here to register individually"
4. Fill out all of the required info. (Your group's name is St John's Warrenton, MO)
5. Click submit at the end of the page.
 
Let me know if you want to go.  ALL ADULTS ARE WELCOME!!!!
 
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Youth are selling dinner/auction tickets in the narthex after services. Tickets are $15 per person.  Bid only tickets are $5.00.   You may also contact Marilyn to reserve tickets.
 
In order to guarantee that you get to sit with a special group of family or friends, you may want to consider purchasing a table of 8 for $120.
The Youth Group Steak Dinner and Auction has been set for Saturday, February 11, 2012.   Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.  Please join us for a night of fun and fundraising.  We will be having the old favorites:  silent auction  and 50/50 drawing as well as the new favorites: live auction, dessert dash, wine raffle, and the WILD HEARTS JACKPOT DRAWING where there is a chance to win $500.00.
Tickets for the WILD HEARTS $500 DRAWING are on sale now.  Please ask a youth group member to get  yours.  The tickets are 1 for $10 but for an additional $10 you can get 10 more tickets and have 11 chances at winning! 
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A MOMENT OF GRACE FLORIST IS DONATING 10% oF EACH ST. JOHN'S MEMBER'S SALE BACK TO THE CHURCH
Each time you purchase flowers and other gifts from A MOMENT OF GRACE and tell them you are a member at St. John's, the church receives a tithe from them.   A Moment of Grace is located at 511 N Hwy 47 and the phone number is 456-9334.
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PRAYERS: (If I have missed anyone please let me know.)
For A GOOD FRIEND OF CHRISTY WINN who has been diagnosed with cancer for the fifth time and is pregnant. 
 
For ANNA HOELSCHER who is in the ICU with internal bleeding.
 
For TAMMY MILLER and her family as her grandpa passed away last night only a few days after her grandma. 
 
For DOUG HERZOG as his mom went to heaven yesterday.
 For KENNETH DOVE, Jennfier Figura's dad, and former member of St. John's, who is dealing with an aneurysm in his stomach area and will findo ut soon, whether he will have surgery or not. 
 
For ED KOHRS and BETTY TAMELER who all have returned home after time spent in the nursing home recovering from illness, injury and surgery
 
For a dear friend of Tony and Sandra Perricone JACKIE SNEAD who is undergoing a double masectomy today.
 
For HANK SCHMIDT who is going through radiation treatments for stage 2 lung cancer.
 
For ROSETTA JONES who is recovering from a broken hip at St Jospeh's hospital rehab.
  
For MRS SISSON (1st grade teacher at Daniel Boone) AND HER NEW BABY, CHLOE, as they both grow stronger with each passing day.  Baby Chloe has about 2 mor emonths in the hospital.   
  
For KEN WAGNER who is home and is doing well, although he still has a LONG way to go.
 
For JONAS BORCHERT, grandson of Don Nolte, who continues to be up and down because of chemotherapy treatments.   
       


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