Monday, Oct. 28, 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). 




"I'm Afraid"

October 28, 2013
cross, blueHe (God) has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:5-6
Most of us are afraid of something.

While I won't guess what scares you, I do know what frightens Rogelio Andaverde, a resident of Hidalgo County, Texas. I know because Mr. Andaverde's fears made the news a few weeks ago.

On a Tuesday, some masked men entered Andaverde's house with drawn guns. Without saying why they had come, they took him and left his wife wondering what terrible things might happen to her husband. Quickly, she called the police who arrived and began a search.

The investigation was fruitless.

Amazingly, two days after he had been taken, Andaverde was back home. He told his wife that, for some unknown reason, his kidnappers had released him. The reunion between the two was a happy one. Indeed, their joy was only marred when the police showed up at their door and accused Mr. Andaverde of having faked his own kidnapping.

"Why would anybody do such a thing?" you ask.

Well, Mr. Andaverde was afraid.

He wanted to party with his friends, and he was afraid of his wife. For that reason he enlisted some of his pals to enter his house with masks, guns and a demand that he go with them. Mr. Andaverde was arrested and charged with having filed a false report. His bond was set at $5,000.

Looking back at the jail time, the fine, the embarrassment, and his now-really-upset wife, Mr. Andaverde might rightly conclude he had been afraid of the wrong thing.

Mr. Andaverde is hardly alone.

Over the years I have seen families who were afraid people might think poorly of them if they prayed in a restaurant. I have talked to kids in college who were afraid of receiving a bad grade if they confessed their faith. I have seen many of us afraid of taking a stand for the Savior because we wished to escape the criticism and condemnation of others.

In these instances, and many others like them, we have been afraid of the wrong thing.

Rather than being afraid of the opinions and judgments of others, we ought to be concerned about compromising our faith in the Savior to win the approval of people. Knowing that, the Psalmist said, "The fear (or respect) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (see Psalm 111:10). In Proverbs we read, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight" (Proverbs 9:10).

The words of those Old Testament writers were supported by the Savior who told us, "So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33).

Loving, honoring and respecting God: that's what we need to do as we obey God rather than men.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, help us love You with our whole heart and mind. In this way we respect You and give a right witness to our Savior who died so we might live. In His Name. 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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WEDNESDAY'S QUIZ: Who were the first two disciples? Andrew and Peter
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CALENDAR
Mon- Confirmation 5-6:15
Tues- Quiltes 9-2; Bible study 11:30-12:15
Wed- Choir 7pm
Thurs- Trunk or Treat begins with supper at 5:30-7pm: Trunk or Treat goes till 8pm out on the parking lot
Fri- Assemble newsletter 9am
Sat- worship 5pm
Sun- worship 8:30 and 11; Sunday school 9:45; SERVICE DAY begins with potluck at noon!!
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SERVICE DAY AT ST. JOHN'S WAS WONDERFUL YESTERDAY!!!!
 
A huge thank you to Mike Donsky, who donated the meat trays and pies from O Charley's yesterday.
 
Also, thank you to all who worked so hard yesterday to accomplish a bunch of tasks.  The bushes got trimmed and sculpted, the electric sockets got changed to safe GFI sockets.  The pews and altar rail got cleaned and polished.  Many letters got written o our troops and our shut-ins.  Good Shepherd got painted.  Warrenton Manor Nursing Home got visited, wallpaper got peeled off, and a bunch of other things got done!!

 

 

I love my church!  It is amazing what we can accomplish when we all work together for the glory of God!!

 

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TRUNK OR TREAT THIS THURSDAY 5:30-8pm  AT CHURCH
 
Begins with chili and hotdogs for supper at 5:30!!
 
Pumpkin carving contest with trophies for scariest, funniest, and best...
 
Then enjoy a wonderful evening of kids dressed up in costumes, wonderfully decorated trunks, and lot and lots of candy!!
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MEN'S BREAKFAST THIS SATURDAY AT 8am!!! 
As always, please reply to this email or call/text me 636-359-1061 to tell me you're coming!!
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HELP OUT AGAPE

 Items that Agape is in need of…

 

Food Pantry:

Spaghetti noodles (or any pasta)

Sauces

Peanut Butter

Cereals

Toilet Paper

Bar Soaps

Canned Soups

Meats

 

Winter items:

Coats

Hats

Gloves

Socks

Blankets

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BELL RINGING AT WALMART!!!!!  SIGN UP TODAY AND SUPPORT THOSE IN NEED!!

Also, St. John's is signed up to ring the bells at the north door (food side) for Agape (Salvation Army) on Saturday, December 14 from 8am-8pm. 
 
Here is the schedule.  I am breaking it up into one hour time slots.  If you would like to do more than one hour please feel free to sign up for two or three. 
 
It is always fun to do it as a family!  Or if a bunch of kids want to get together and do it, that is fun too.  Bring your songbooks and sing Christmas carols, do dramatic readings of something, whatever you want to do.    SIGN UP TODAY!!!
 
 
Thanks!
 
 
8am-
 
9am-
 
10am-
 
11am-
 
12noon-
 
1pm-
 
2pm-
 
3pm-
 
4pm-
 
5pm-
 
6pm-
 
7pm-
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GOOD NEWS CLUB AT REBECCA BOONE NEEDS ANOTHER HELPER!!
They meet every Wednesday from 3-4:15!!  If you can help even just once a month please call Mary Aubuchon at 314-581-5824.  It is a very rewarding thing to do!!
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CHRISTMAS PROGRAM ALREADY????
Let's get ready for the Christmas Program! I know we haven't even had Halloween and Thanksgiving yet!!! We have to start on the program now because we only have NINE more Sundays to practice before the December 15th Program. We will be holding the program at the 11am church service. Now if you are a Sunday school age student and wish to be part of the program, please come to Sunday school as much as possible for the next nine weeks.

Besides the traditional songs we will sing as a group we will also be doing the ushering, offering, and readings for the service. Any age students may participate in the background support rolls. We are also looking for students to play their instruments and/or sing a special piece. If you are interested please contact Karin Klaustermeier or Donna Sherman.
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POSSIBLE TRIP TO THE CREATION MUSEUM NEXT SPRING OR SUMMER
 
Hey parents of Sunday School Students!
We have a grand idea to take the kids to the Creation Museum! This would be a trip we would raise the money for the expense. We have a starting fundraiser idea and hope to get matching funds from Thrivent.

Are you interested in having your kids take a learning journey that may be the cornerstone of their faith for the years ahead? Parents are welcome to come along. We are in the early idea stages, but we would take the six hour trip by motor coach to the museum and plan to spend the night near by in order to take advantage of the special tickets you can use two days in a row.

http://creationmuseum.org/assets/layout/museum/logo.gif
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PRAYER REQUESTS:
1. For WILMA WEIGLE as she continues to recover slowly from a surgery to repair an aneurysm. 
 
2. For the FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF NATALIE FUSSNER, a grandma of a Little Lambs preschooler, who passed away last week at the age of 52.
3. For LIL WINTER who is still dealing with pain in her foot after foot surgery.
 
4. For FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF GREG NEWTON, friend of the Figura family, who passed away last week from many health complications.
 
5. For DON, FRAN, and JUDY all friends of the Robines who are dealing with health problems of various kinds, and for their friend SHEILA who is doing well and recovering.
 
6. For ANDREW SHERMAN who left this past Friday to work as a defense contractor in Afghanistan.
 
7. For, PATTY, a friend of Denise Schlesselmann, who has recently been diagnosed with breast caner.
8. For JENNIFER, daughter of John and Mary Jo Fahrni, who is recovering from a double mastectomy due to breast cancer. 
9. For STEPHEN DELANEY a friend of the Fahrnis, who is dealing with lung cancer. 
10.  For MICHELLE WOOLF as she is trying new and different medicines to get better from a prolonged illness due to thyroid problems and struggle with chronic fatigue.

PRAYERS FOR OUR SERVICEMEN
CALEB FIGURA- Army national Guard- just completed basic training.
 
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!

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