Wednesday, August 7, 2013

 
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
By Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour

Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin!  Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM). 

 
 
"Joyful or Cheerless"
August 7, 2013
Daily Devotions, Asian Family 8-7-13Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:15-16

Have you ever met anyone who just radiated goodness, niceness and pleasantness?

In the course of my life I have been blessed to know a number of such people. (My helpmeet of 43 years is one of them.) They have not always been super-smart, ultra-talented, mega-blessed, or natural leaders.

On the other hand, these folks seem to be welcomed just about any place they go. That's because without working at it, they have the ability to make almost everyone feel loved and at peace. Now if you're paying attention, you may have noticed that both of the preceding sentences have a qualifier. I said, "just about any place" they went and "make almost everyone feel loved."

I put in those qualifiers because it seems that even the best people in this world have someone who dislikes them.

As evidence of that, I point out that around 1:30 a.m. in the morning on Friday, July 26th, somebody vandalized the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. This they did by deliberately throwing green paint at the statue of our country's most beloved and probably best president.

Since hearing about that event, I've wondered just what would it take to make an individual so angry that he would take his frustrations out on a piece of stone set up to honor a good man who had been martyred in the service to his country? And as I was thinking about such nasty folk, I also ended up thinking about the Savior.

I thought of Jesus because, well, God's perfect Son lived, suffered and died. He did so for the grouchy, gloomy Gus as well as the soul who is filled with sweetness and light. When Jesus rose from the dead, He did so to bring peace to the hearts of those who seem to subsist on a diet composed completely of sour grapes and those whose mouths are filled with honey.

This takes me to the point of this devotion. It's easy for you and me to give thanks to the Lord for those who make us smile and give our hearts a warm glow; it is far harder to pray for those whose dark shadow seems to radiate gloom to everyone around them.

This is why our sentence prayer is going to speak to the Lord on behalf of those who have a sour spirit. Let us ask that they be changed. May they, as St. Paul encourages, be filled with thankfulness in their hearts toward God.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, when You were born the shepherds were told that event was "good news of great joy" (see Luke 2:10). When You rose from the dead, Your disciples were filled with joy. May that same joyful spirit touch those Christians who today find themselves living in a cloud of cheerlessness. In Your Name I ask it. Amen.

 
Pastor KlausIn Christ I remain His servant and yours,


Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of
The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries

 

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TUESDAY'S QUIZ:  How many years were the Israelites held captive in Babylon?  70 (Good job as always Pam and Dianne)  I wonder if anyone else can answer these questions..... 
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WEDNESDAY'S QUIZ:  Who was Baruch?
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CALENDAR
Wed- Jonesburg Nursing Home Worship 10:30; Jr-Sr Hi Youth pool party at Schirrs house 3-8pm
Sat- worship 5pm
Sun- worship 8:30 and 11; Sunday school 9:45; elder's meeting noon
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Attention ALL JR HI AND HS  KIDS!!!  THERE IS A POOL PARTY AT THE SCHIRR'S HOUSE THIS WEDNESDAY BEGINNING AT 3PM!!  Reply to this email or text me at 636-359-1061 to let me know if you are coming!
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GOLF OUTING SATURDAY!!
STILL PLENTY OF SPACES LEFT!!
$60 per person includes- 2 mulligans, Special hole contests, Cash prizes by flight, Lunch with pork steaks and sides.
7am- Registration begins
8am- Shotgun start
1pm Lunch and awards
 $15 per person for Lunch only
 Hole Sponsorship (tee box sign) $50 per hole
 Entry flyers with all of the details are available in the narthex or  the office!!
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WOMEN'S AND MEN'S RETREATS COMING UP AUGUST 17 AND AUGUST 24!!
Please sign up on the table in the Narthex or call the church office TODAY!!
 
It is a wonderful, lighthearted, fun time of relaxation, refreshment and meditation on God's Word!! 
Both of them begin around 8am and end around 5pm! 
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BARB DREYER WANTS YOU TO SING IN CHOIR!!!
Adult choir will be starting up again here at St. John's under the direction of Barb Dreyer.  Rehearsals will be on Wednesday evenings from 7:00-8:00 p.m. in the balcony.  The plan is to sing 2-3 Sundays per month for services.  The first rehearsal will be on August 28th at 7:00 p.m.  If interested, please contact Barb at 636-359-1906, abdreyer@centurytel.net or the church office at 456-2888
 
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SIGN UP TO GET YOUR PICTURES TAKEN FOR OUR PICTORIAL DIRECTORY!!!
Time for us to get a new directory!!  And guess what else!!! If you buy pictures from the photographer, (Lifetouch) St. John's gets 5% of all sales.  You can also get some money off of your purchase by giving them your email address or by bringing in canned goods for their "Feed the Hungry" drive.  Sign up by calling the church office TODAY or at the sign up table in the narthex before or after worship this weekend.
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SUPPORT OUR MISSIONARY DENISE SCHLESSELMAN!!!!!
She will be leaving in a month for the Czech Republic to do mission work for a year and most probably two!!  She needs your support!  First she needs PRAYER support.  Pray for her safety, for her witness and for her life, that God would do His work through her. 
 
Secondly she needs your FINANCIAL support!  She is trying to get 75% of her needed funding in either one time gifts or pledges. 
 
Please pray about God's will for you in this and support her as best as you can!! 
 
Go to www.lcms.org/schlesselman to learn more about how you can support her.  You can also call her directly at 260-579-2942 and she will tell you more about it!!
 
 
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PRAYER REQUESTS:
For BOB NITZSCHKE who is recovering from knee replacement surgery.
 
For WILMA WEIGLE who is recovering from a slight stroke and will have to have surgery soon.
 
For ROSETTA JONES as she recovers from a broken hip at Delmar Gardens.
 
For WILMA SMITH who is now in Warrenton Manor Nursing Home.
 
For JILL JACOBSMEYER as she recovers from knee surgery at home. 
 
For NANCY SPINIOLAS who is having sever back and hip pain .
 
For PAUL TOEDEBUSCH who is recovering from bladder surgery due to cancer.  
For RICK SPINIOLAS who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and continues to go through treatments.
For JONAS BORCHERT, grandson of Don Nolte, and Pat King's cousin on your prayers today as well. 
For TYLER WEST, a little brother of a preschooler, who is going to have to have a third surgery to remove a tumor on his brain. .   
 
PRAYERS FOR OUR SERVICEMEN
I have been compiling a list of servicemen who are members of St John's so that we can pray for them.  Below is a list of them and where they are currently stationed.  Please note that their stationing changes quickly, so this may not even be up to date, but it is the last known whereabouts that I have of these guys. 
 
Danny Dreyer-  Army- 2nd Lieutenant- Ranger, GERMANY
 
Sam Hargrove- Army- 2 Lieutenant- Ft Rucker, Alabama, will be going through helicopter flight school and other training
 
David Mincemeyer- Army- Army Specialist- Ft. Carson, CO
 
Jon Rahn- Navy- Hawaii, not sure of his rank at this time
 
David Tate- Air Force- 2nd Lieutenant- Jacksonville, Florida
 
Alex Walters- Navy- E4- Guam
 
Ryan Woolf- Air Force- Airman 1st Class- Buckley Air Force Base, near Denver, CO
 
 
If there are more out there that I just don't know about, please let me know, and I will include him/her on the list.
 
Also, if you would like your family member or friend included in this list, please reply to this email with all the information!
 
 
Pray for these guys.  Some of these guys are in harm's way right now, others are training to put themselves in harm's way.  All of them have volunteered to serve and protect their country (which is you). 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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