DEVOTION: Mark 13:24-37 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Coming of the Son of Man
24 "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
28 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
No One Knows That Day or Hour
32 "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake.[a] For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants[b] in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows,[c] or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake."
https://www.facebook.com/jeremy.klaustermeier/videos/10155915247593803/
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CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK:
Wed- Thanksgiving Eve Worship 6:30
Thurs- Thanksgiving! Office closed!
Fri- Office closed! Go get your Christmas trees
Sun- Adult Bible Class 8:15; Worship 9:30; Disciple Makers 10:45; CHURCH DECORATING AT NOON!
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WORSHIP WORKERS:
Organist- Wed- Pat Golden; Sun- Ned Quest
Acolyte- Wed- Haley Rausch; Sun- Cameron Faerber
Ushers- Wed- Doug Walters, Dave Callies, Kevin Luebke, Dick Petersen; Sun- Rich Talbert, Tom Linke, Don Hance, Kent Jacobsmeyer
Altar- Wed- Set Up-Terry McKenzie Clean Up- Lois Boeger; Sun- Set Up- Dave and Linda Callies; Clean up- Paul and Teresa Brockfeld
Communion assistant- Wed and Sun- Randy Fischer
Greeters- Sun- John and Joanne Hachtel
Projectionist- None Wednesday; Sun- Erv Yoder
Lay Reader- Sun only- Steve Robine
YESTERDAY'S QUIZ: To whom did Luke address his book of Acts? Theophilus
TODAY'S QUIZ: Who was chosen as the twelfth apostle to replace Judas?
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NEWS:
THANKSGIVING EVE WORSHIP WITH COMMUNION IS TONIGHT AT 6:30!!
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DECORATING CHURCH FOR CHRISTMAS THIS SUNDAY AT NOON!
If we all pitch in, it shouldn't take more than an hour and then we'll have pizza for lunch!!
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RESULTS OF SUNDAY'S VOTER'S MEETING
- New bylaws to the constitution were approved.
Over the past few decades our church members have been finding it more and more difficult to volunteer their time to serve on boards and committees. We have spent too much time and energy on a system and structure that is out of date and has become more of a hindrance and burden than a help.
Taking all this and many other factors into consideration, a governance structure task force was appointed, and over the past year they have been studying and working to come up with a new governance structure that will be more beneficial and useful for our congregation in our 21st century setting.
We have consolidated our five boards into one church council. The council consists of a president (Steve McDowell), a vice president (Tom Linke), a secretary (Sandra Perricone), a treasurer (Rich Boeger), a financial secretary (Steve Robine), a head trustee (Brett Nordwald), and a head elder (Jason Cluver).
These seven people will act as leaders and decision makers on the congregation's behalf for the coming year and are able to be reelected for the years following should they choose to continue. They will not do all of the work for the congregation, but will help to lead the congregation in the way it should go, and will be the advocates for the mission and ministries of St. John's.
This new structure will allow for more freedom for all of you to do what God has gifted you to do! I am looking forward to many members coming up with new, innovative, and inspired ways of bringing the Gospel to the lost and helping those in need.
If there's a new ministry you want to start, you will get all the help and support you need from the leadership of St. John's. If you think we should help out the homeless in our community more, you will be given everything and everyone you need to do it. If you want a mom's day out, you got it. Get to work! If you want a financial seminar course, find one that you like, run it by pastor, and get to it! If you want a bigger and better youth group, you'll have everything the church has to offer at your disposal! The council will stand behind you 100% and will help you every step of the way. They won't do it for you, but they will give you everything you need.
This will also free a lot of people up to volunteer for projects and events instead of boards and committees. Instead of a few people doing a lot of work, there will be a lot of people each doing a little work. It will enhance our fellowship, our outreach, and our mission of bringing the lost to Christ!
There will still be need for many ongoing things like projectionists, ushers, communion assistants, altar set up or clean up. Please call the office or talk to pastor to volunteer. These are all simple ways to keep the mission moving forward! Sign-up sheets to help with these areas of worship ministry will be on the table in the narthex until all the spots are filled.
The Lord willing, our trained Stephen Ministers will take on a more active role in the spiritual care of the congregation. They will be God's ears and arms for those who are hurting and those who need encouragement. If you'd like to be a Stephen Minister, please talk to pastor or to Marcia Sevier for more information.
- New service times of 9am and 10:45 on Sunday and 6:30 on Monday were approved to begin on January 6
At our May voter's meeting it was decided that we would consolidate our three worship services into one. Our thinking was that it would provide a more "worshipful" atmosphere, put less strain on volunteers, and make security less of an issue. Unfortunately, attendance went down 20-30 people per Sunday. That isn't something that our size church can take.
At the same time, what we had been doing wasn't working either, as it was clearly seen that attendance had been decreasing steadily over the last fifteen years. Something different had to be done.
After five months of discussion, a proposal was approved by the voter's assembly that will hopefully remedy the situation. It is my prayer that you will take advantage of this expanded schedule and make a commitment to the Lord and to his church to be an active participant.
PARENTS! Do you want your children to grow up in the knowledge and love of the Lord? If so, you must surely realize how important regular worship and Learning off the Scriptures is. Confirmation doesn't begin in seventh or eighth grade. It begins the minute a person is baptized! Growing up in worship and learning the Scriptures is crucial to the spiritual lives of our children! They need to be in church as often as possible, and they need to see that their parents are taking an active role in their own faith as well!
Below is the new worship and Sunday school schedule starting January 6, 2019!
Sunday 8-8:45- Adult Bible Class
9-10:15- Regular liturgical worship with Communion
10:15-10:45- Fellowship (Coffee and donuts) for everyone; and Sunday school for kids who went to the first service
10:45- 11:45- Adult Bible Studies for those who went to the first service
10:45- Chapel Service (Worship and Sunday school combined)
Description of the Chapel Service—It will be similar to the Chapel service we had at 11am, but instead of having an O.T., Epistle, and Gospel reading, we will have a Bible story that we will go through each week and there will be more teaching and interaction during the sermon. It will be more like a lesson than a sermon. The music will mostly be videos but we will also ask pianists and other musicians to play from time to time.
About halfway through the service, after I am done teaching the Bible story, the youngest of our kids will go with some teachers to do an activity (craft, game, etc.), and the rest of us will stay and learn some more from the lesson and have the Lord's Supper.
There will also be worship on Mondays at 6:30pm—The same Chapel service that was on Sunday at 10:45 will be repeated. The intention of this evening worship is to give another worship opportunity to those who either work or are out of town on weekends.
- Budget was approved
- Dr. David Maier and Dr. Larry Rast were nominated to run for President and VP of Synod
- A renewal of our commitment to support the mission work of Pastor Micah Glenn in North County was approved.
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PRAYERS:
For GEORGE HOELSCHER, as he undergoes another biopsy to figure out the best treatment for his cancer.
For HOWARD LINKE, brother of Bob Linke, who remains hospitalized with complications from a triple bypass. .
For MARILYN FOSTER as she has a cancer that can be controlled with medicine which will be a shot that she receives once a month. .
For MARY WILLIAMS, (Mother of Ron Williams), who is on hospice care.
PRAYERS FOR OUR MILITARY PERSONNEL:
For CONNER FIGURA going through tech training for the Air Force. .
For DAVID TATE stationed in Japan, and ALEX WALTERS, stationed in Tennessee. That God would bless their service to our country and keep them safe as they all await possible deployment.
For CALEB FIGURA AND VINCE MASTERS who are both serving our country in the National Guard and take time out of their lives, jobs, and families to go on duty several times a year.
