"Peter Reports to the Church"
11 Now the apostles and the brothers[a] who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party[b] criticized him, saying, 3 "You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them." 4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5 "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 6 Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying to me, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' 8 But I said, 'By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' 9 But the voice answered a second time from heaven, 'What God has made clean, do not call common.' 10 This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. 11 And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.' 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?" 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life."
How hard do you work for the Lord? Are you always on a mission? Are you always working for God's kingdom? Or are you the opposite? Are you one who never thinks about God's kingdom increasing and what you can do about it? Or maybe you're somewhere in the middle. You live a regular life and have a regular job, but every once in a while you get up the urge to do the work of the church.
I must admit that I've been all three of these. There have been times where I have been working very hard for the Lord. There are also times where, usually because of burn out, I've only done the bare minimum. And there are lots of times where I am just in the middle.
Thank God that in all those times God still does His work. You read that right. Whether I am working hard or barely working for the kingdom, God is still doing His work fully and completely.
As Peter says, so I say, "who am I to stand in God's way?" Sometimes our work is counterproductive. We can actually work too hard for the kingdom and become very frustrated when things don't go the way we want. We can quickly get frustrated and burned out when we see other Christians not working as hard as we are, or when we see the humanity of other Christians as they sin even in the church. In all of these times we are being counterproductive for ourselves and for our church. We simply need to do what the Lord asks us to do and then get out of the way. Sometimes we need to just get out of our own way.
Peter was very reluctant to go to the Gentiles and share the word of the Lord. He was completely Jewish and his whole life he had been told that he couldn't associate with the other nations. Actually, when you look at the Old Testament, you can see that God commanded the Israelites to stay away them. So Peter was only following the rules. Now, after all this time, God was changing the rules. Not only would Peter go and proclaim the good news to his enemies, the Gentiles, but he would be able to eat anything and everything that God had, at one time and for millennium, called unclean.
Peter had to get out of his own way, and when He finally did, the Holy Spirit did His work unhindered among the Gentiles.
Jesus has called us to do four things: Love. Forgive. Baptize, and Teach. When we are about these things and living our lives doing these things we will have the satisfaction and contentment that God desires for us. Let's focus on these things starting today so that we can get out of God's way and out of our own way and simply watch God make the church grow.
Prayer: Lord, bless us as we get out of Your way and let You do Your work through us. Amen.
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CALENDAR:
Tues- Quilting 9-2; Bible Study 11:30-12:15; Board of outreach meeting 6pm; Council 7pm
Wed- Ladies Aid mite box collection and installation of officers noon
Thurs- Confirmation questioning and reception 7pm; No Lutheranism 101
Fri- Assemble newsletter 9am
Sat- Worship 5pm
Sun- worship 8:30; Bible Study 9:45; Confirmation Worship 11
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WORSHIP WORKERS:
Acolyte- 8:30- Gus Klaustermeier 11- Sarah Cluver
Ushers- 8:30- Allan Dreyer, Lew Feldkamp, Kent Jacobsmeyer, Paul Klover; 11- Marv Hendershot, Dave Winter, Gary Scott, Charlie Figura
Altar- Set up- Ruth Walters; Clean Up- Cheryl Bettlach
Elders- Sat-- Dave Winter; 8:30- Jason Cluver; 11- Jim Rahn ?????
Greeters- 8:30- Bob and Marianne Linke; 11- Dan and Lisa Rausch
Lay Readers- Sat- Marcia Sevier 8:30- Tim Linke ; 10- Jim Rahn???
Organist- Rachel Fisher 8:30 and 11
Sat Piano- Barb Dreyer
Projectionists: Sat- Perricone; 8:30- Terry McKenzie 11- Cara Klaustermeier
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YESTERDAY'S BIBLE QUIZ: How did the Israelites pay for the building of the temple?
Both David and Solomon gave generously to the temple, and they both called the people to give as they were able. Read 1 Chronicles 29:1-9 and 1 Kings 5-9
_________________________________________________________________________________INSIDE SPACES ARE SOLD OUT!!
Join us as a vendor inside, have a tag sale on the parking lot, or craft items for sale. Outside spaces are available for $10 for a double parking spot.There will be a sale under the pavilion if you would like to donate items. The youth will be raising money for their National Youth Gathering trip under the pavilion and at the concession stand.St. John's Lutheran Church, 950 S Hwy 47 in Warrenton. Please call the church office for more info. 636-456-2888.
Vendor spots are being held for: Tupperware, Origami Owl, Pampered Chef, Scentsy, 18" doll clothes by PJ'S Patterns, Perfectly Posh, Paparazzi, Damsel in Distress, It Works Global, Mary Kay, Norwex, Tastefully Simple, Pink Zebra, Lilla Rose, Usborne Books & More, Cindy Rust handmade Jewelry, Avon, Park Lane, scroll saw art, Young Living Essential oils, Amy Flores Handmade Jewelry and custom / personalized key chains. More to come...THE QUILTERS WILL ALSO BE RAFFLING OFF THE QUILT THAT IS HANGING DOWNSTAIRS!!____________________________________________________________________________________________________LITTLE LAMBS PRESCHOOL IS CURRENTLY ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR FOR CURRENT STUDENTS AND ST. JOHN'S MEMBERS!!! OPEN REGISTRATION FOR EVERYONE STARTS APRIL 1.Registration forms are available from Little Lambs or the church office. All registration forms must accompany the $45 nonrefundable registration fee. Children should be 3 or 4 by August 1. For more info talk to Lisa Rausch or Karin Klaustermeier._____________________________________________________________________________________DO YOU KNOW OF ANYONE WHO WOULD BENEFIT FROM RECEIVING THIS DAILY EMAIL?If you know of someone who isn't currently receiving my daily emails but would like to, please reply to this email with their email address and I will add them to the list. THANK YOU!_____________________________________________________________________________OPERATION BACKPACK FOR APRIL IS CANNED SOUP AND RAMEN NOODLES(Remember this is for the poor and needy children of our community and county that often receive two breakfast and lunch at school, and have very little or no food at home.)___________________________________________________________________________________GENERAL PRAYERS:For LYNN FIGURA who is recovering from knee replacement surgery at home and is doing great.For LOIS FRICK who fell and fractured her back last week and is going for an MRI today.For EVELYN TOEDEBUSCH, Lois Boeger's mom, who is dealing with severe back pain and has been moved to a rehab nursing home. .For PASTOR'S SISTER'S FAMILY as they mourn the loss of her father in law at visitation today and funeral tomorrow.For PASTOR'S MOM, who is having hip replacement surgery on April 25.For DON BRAZEE as he has been moved to Breeze Park in Weldon Spring for rehab and to receive his cancer treatment.For PASTOR PIPER, from St. Paul, New Melle, as he recovers from a heart attack he had while running a 5K in Florida.For DENISE SCHLESSELMANN as she is in need of more funding to continue her mission work in the Czech Republic.
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