we also need kitchen helpers for those nights from 4:30-6:30
Please reply to this email or text or call me at 636-359-1061.
You can call Kelsey at 573-803-7826 or Karin at 314-691-7283 if you have more questions.
12 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms,[a] and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." 5 Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."
7 Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'13 David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord,[a] the child who is born to you shall die." This is my favorite story in all of Scripture. Why? Because it shows God's ultimate mercy and grace. God had no reason at all to spare David's life. He had every reason to strike David down and annihilate him forever, but instead he had mercy on him. God knew David's heart. He knew David would repent once he was truly convicted of his sin. He knows your heart too. He knows you believe in Him. He knows that you will keep believing in Him. He has no reason to spare your life. In fact, he has every reason to strike you down and annihilate you forever. But He loves you, and He is rich in mercy and grace to forgive you. He loved you so much that he left heaven to come down to earth, to suffer, die, and rise again for you! Take a look at your own life! Are there sins so hidden that you don't even recognize them anymore? Have you had trouble confessing certain sins because of how bad and guilty you feel? Read this story again, and know that if God can forgive David of adultery and murder, he can also forgive you! He has forgiven you! Rejoice and worship in that truth today! Prayer: Lord, help me to see your forgiveness as true and real, so that I can freely and confidently confess my sin to you and receive forgiveness. Amen. |
As many of you know, through the wonderful avenue of Facebook, I have become friends over the past several years with Simon Peter Waako, He is a pastor and mission planter in Uganda and has been working hard for the last several years. Unfortunately, he is quite poor and the people he serves are even poorer. He could really use our help to be able to survive as a pastor in that quickly growing mission field. Please consider giving to him and his family. Below is a brief autobiography from him:
I am Pastor Simon Peter Waako. I was born on 7th-09-1980. Iam 35 years old. I am the Pastor of Nakabango Lutheran congregation, but I also help several small congregations that are under Nakabango since in Uganda we still have scarcity of Pastors. I graduated from Matongo Lutheran Seminary in western Kenya in 2014 and I got ordained into Holy ministry on 14-02-2015.
I am married to Alice Waako. Alice is 30 years old and God has blessed us with four children. Three are our biological children but the fourth one is a child who was homeless and we picked him from the street of Jinja. He has started living with us. Our children are Joseph Iran, our first born child, who is 10 years old; Precious Doreen is 8 years old; Christina Praise is 3 years old, and Moses, the boy we got from the street is 12 years old.
Our youngest daughter Christina has some complications .She was born with four holes in her heart, and she underwent heart surgery in 2014 from the Uganda Hearts Institute Mulago. Since then Christina's life is just not improving as well as we would have hoped. .We have to take her to the Uganda Hearts Institute, Mulago Kampala every month and every month we need to have $150 to cater for transport,, medication, and accommodation. Christina need to be under treatment still for a period of two years but it's a real challenge to our family.
On top of that, we need to get food, clothing, house rent and other family necessities. I can't afford this because even the church doesn't afford to pay the Pastor due to the situations in the Lutheran congregations in Uganda are in. They are poor village congregations that can't afford paying the Pastor and instead they feel that the pastor should be the one to support them.
The doctors have also instructed us not to be moving with Christina in dusty places but we can't avoid this since we don't have our own car, because we can't afford it. .All these challenges have made the ministry work harder. I have a proposal for rearing poultry birds. I have a proposal of setting up a poultry farm, and if I could get the capital of $6,000 to start up the poultry farm business, i will be able to pay my rent and clothing for ourselves, medication bill for Christina, and also to provide for all other necessities of the ministry. If we could get someone to help us with this it would be wonderful. May God bless you all!
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CALLING ALL 18-40 YEAR OLDS!!
What? Barbecue Picnic
When? Saturday, June 18, at 6pm (after worship)
Where? Church Pavilion
Who? All 18-40 year olds and their friends
Why? 1. Fun and Fellowship (getting to know others)
2. Fact Finding and Future Planning (How can the congregation better serve this generation, and how can this generation be of service to, in and through the congregation?)
What will be provided? Hamburgers, hotdogs, pork steaks, buns, plates, napkins, cups, and plasticware, tea, and lemondade.
What should I bring? Bring your own adult beverages and a side dish or dessert to share.
Please RSVP by Sunday, June 12 if you can, but if you don't RSVP, please come! The Lord will provide.
WHAT IS STEPHEN MINISTRY?
Stephen Ministry is a lay ministry of caring for individuals on a one to one basis through listening and prayer.
WHO NEEDS A STEPHEN MINISTER
Basically anyone who has gone or is going through some type of struggle or loss could benefit from a visit from a Stephen Minister. People who are going through grief, divorce, loneliness, or a whole host of other circumstances are all good candidates for a Stephen Minister.
WHO LEADS AND DIRECTS IT?
It is led by lay people, under the supervision of Pastor, who have been trained to be Stephen Leaders at a special Stephen Leader training course. Molly Hendershot, Joanne Hachtel, and Chrissy Groeber are our current Stephen leaders.
HOW DOES ONE BECOME A STEPHEN MINISTER?
Stephen Ministers go through 50 hours of training to be the best active listeners and responsible caregivers that they can be.
WHAT DO STEPHEN MINISTERS DO ONCE THEY ARE TRAINED? Stephen Ministers are responsible to
Listen
Pray
Share Christ's love
Attend to the caregiver process and leave the results to God.
Maintain confidentiality
WHAT IS CONFIDENTIALITY
WHO CAN BE A STEPHEN MINISTER?
Anyone who has a heart for hurting souls can be a Stephen Minister. It does require a time commitment, so be sure that you have enough time to commit to the training and to being a Stephen Minister (About 1-2 hours a week.)
WHY DO WE NEED STEPHEN MINISTERS?
It's best to answer this one right from the Scriptures. In Acts 6 we see that the disciples were getting very busy as the church was growing exponentially. They needed some "helpers' to help take care of the needs of the people. So they chose seven people, one of whom was Stephen, to help take care of the physical and spiritual needs of the people.
To these seven, and then to billions after them in the millennia since, have been given the task of being the ears, hands, and hearts to care for the people.
St. John's is in need of such people! As our congregation grows and changes and as needs increase, the need for Stephen Ministers increases as well. We just need more people listening and praying and that's what Stephen Ministers do.
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO EB ASSIGNED TO A STEPHEN MINISTER AS A CARE RECEIVER?
Contact one of the Stephen Leaders, Marilyn, or Pastor and we will get you set up. Church phone is 636-456-2888 or Pastor's cell is 636-359-1061
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO BECOME A STEPHEN MINISTER?
1. Contact one of our Stephen Leaders, Pastor, or Marilyn to be put on a list of trainees. 636-456-2888 or Pastor's cell at 636-359-1061
2. Wait for enough people to fill out the list.
3. Attend and participate in training when it is scheduled. We have to wait till there are enough people willing to go through the Stephen Ministry training before we start.
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We have been blessed beyond measure in the United States haven't we? I want you to join me in making a global difference by releasing children from poverty through Christian education.
Instead of taking a week off and joining my fellow Lead a Child bikers who are riding the Fault Line across four states this year, I have decided to go solo and bike 1,000 miles locally and while on vacation by August 1 to raise funds for LeadaChild. Would you sponsor me so that I can raise funds to support this most worthy organization? In my opinion, there is no more worthy organization to support than LeadaChild!
LeadaChild provides educational assistance to over 26,000 children and shares the love of Jesus Christ with the students and their families! LeadaChild supports the poorest of the poor children through Christian education in the following countries:
Guatemala Chad Honduras Palestine Haiti Uganda
Gambia Ivory Coast El Salvador Nigeria Panama Nicaragua
Burma Ghana Chile Venezuela Bolivia Mexico
Liberia Uruguay Sri Lanka India Guinea Sierra Leone
Bangladesh Cambodia South Africa Togo Thailand
These students need your help to find a way out of poverty through Christian education and learn of the hope of Christ our Savior.
Please fill out your information below and send it with your check or donate online through the LeadaChild website: http://www.leadachild.org/bike
Every dollar makes a difference. Please give generously. Please remember all of the riders in your prayers! Thank you much for your support!
Biking For Kids Together,
Pastor Jeremy Klaustermeier
LeadaChild is a 501 C-3 non-profit organization and is a Recognized Service Organization of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.