"A Sinful Woman Forgiven"
36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." 40 And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "Say it, Teacher."
41 "A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly." 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." 48 And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among[a] themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" 50 And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
"Women Accompanying Jesus"
8 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them[b] out of their means.
If you've never felt the true, real and ultimate forgiveness of Jesus after a huge sin you've committed, then you won't understand the weight of this passage. If you've never felt real guilt, the guilt that makes you just want to end it all or at the very least, run away and start all over, then you aren't going to get it.
On the other hand, if the conviction of the Holy Spirit has humbled you to the point of complete sorrow, and you truly realize that you deserve nothing but death for your sin, then you get it. Then you understand the reaction of the woman who falls at the feet of Jesus to worship Him and thank Him so passionately for His forgiveness and grace given to her.
I've felt that forgiveness. There's been many times that the weight of my sin was just too much to bear and I had to fall at the feet of Jesus to drop that weight off of me and on to him. it is a feeling of relief that can't be explained with words. It is truly that peace that passes all understanding.
It's funny that a Pharisee, named Simon, says what he says about this woman. The truth is that Jesus does know this woman. He knows her better than Simon ever did. In fact, He knows Simon better than Simon knows himself. He knows you better than you know yourself as well. He knows how truly weak you are. He knows how truly desperate you are for His forgiveness even if you don't know it yourself.
I urge you to let the Holy Spirit convict you of your sin today, so that you may be like the woman in this reading and have your sins completely forgiven. Then, you can go and love much just like she did!
Let us pray: Lord, thank you for giving me the example of all of these women in this passage. Help me to be humble and generous like them. Amen.
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CALENDAR:
Thurs- L 101 @ 7
Sat- Worship 5pm
Sun- worship 8:30; Sunday school 9:45; Worship 11; Elder's meeting noon; Holy Yoga noon
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WORSHIP WORKERS:
Acolyte- 8:30- Gus Klaustermeier 11- Kalene Masters
Ushers- Dave Winter, Gary Scott, Larry Schulze, Scott Schulze
Altar- Set up- Ruth Walters; Clean Up- Joanne Hachtel
Elders- Sat- Jim Rahn; 8:30- Roy Bohning; 11- Stephanie Owenby
Greeters- 8:30- John and Joanne Hachtel; 11- Marv and Molly Hendershot????
Lay Readers- Sat- Jennifer Figura???? 8:30- Roy Bohning; 11- Stephanie Owenby
Organist- Rachel Fisher
Piano- Kathy Barrow
Projectionists: Sat- Kathy Fischer; 8:30- Schaumberg 11- Gus Klaustermeier
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YESTERDAY'S QUIZ: A three part question: How long did Jehoram reign in Jerusalem, how did he die, and why did he die in such a gruesome and painful way?
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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Here's how it works:
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.
