St. John's Group Email Thursday, May 5, 2011

DEVOTION from Lutheran Hour Ministries.

Jesus said) "And what I say to you I say to all: 'Stay awake.'" Mark 13:37

Last week on a flight to Chicago, I sat next to a "white-knuckler." For those of you who don't know, a white-knuckler is a person who is terrified to fly.

Me, I'm usually asleep before we taxi away from the gate and I wake up when we land. Knowing I can't do anything in the unlikely situation something goes wrong I usually take a catnap.

On the other hand, I expect others -- others who are in control of my immediate future -- to stay awake. One of the people I'd like to have awake and alert is the pilot; the other is the air-traffic controller.

This is why the reports about controllers and pilots sleeping have been rather disturbing.

The Wall Street Journal says there are any number of reasons to explain why a controller might drift off to lullaby land: too many hours, too much stress, working in a darkened room, periods of intense commotion followed by hours of inactivity -- they all can contribute to an individual falling asleep. Even so, there is nothing more important than for the controller to stay awake and alert.

Lives depend on them staying awake.

It occurs to me that the same holds true for us. We need to stay spiritually awake. Indeed, in the text above Jesus tells us we need to be watchful; we need to be ready for that unknown hour when He returns.

To spiritually fall asleep, to be ignorant or oblivious to the great grace we have been given through Jesus' life, suffering, death and resurrection is incredibly dangerous. Indeed, to fall asleep on that job doesn't just jeopardize our eternal home. It guarantees we will crash.

This is why, in spite of the world's distractions and regardless of the devil's temptations, there is nothing more important for us than to be prepared for the day of personal or global judgment.

So to you and to all who see these words, we pass on the Savior's advice and encouragement: "Stay awake."

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, You have done all that is necessary to save me. Now I pray that I, along with the rest of the world may value Your gift. Keep us awake so our last day on earth may be a blessed one. In Your Name I ask it. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
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    Through the Bible in a Year
    Today read:
    1 Samuel 24-27, Luke 23:1-25
    Find a Church / Speak with LHM Response Center: Call 1-800-876-9880, M-F:8 a.m.-5 p.m. CST


     
    _________________________________________________________________________________________________
    YESTERDAY'S QUIZ    (This will only require that you look it up.)  What is the refrain in Psalm 136  "His love endures forever."
    ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
    TODAY'S QUIZ: According to Psalm 139, what does God know?
    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    CATECHISM:
    Question: What is the key to the correct understanding of Scripture??
    Answer: Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, is the heart and center of the Scripture and therefore the key to its true meaning.  
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    BIRTHDAYS:
    Sun- Gus Klaustermeier
    Tues- Don Panhorst, Donna Sherman
    Thurs- Steve Mauch, Lynn Russell
    Fri- Steve McDowell, Linda Neely, Rich Talbert
    Sun- Siera Jaeger, Lauren Jones, Robyn McNew, Amber Vossen
    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    ANNIVERSARIES

    none this week
     _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    CALENDAR:
    Thurs- worship @Joneburg NH 10:30; Alzheimer's Caregiver's support group 1pm
    Fri-  nothing
    Sat-  worship 5pm
    Sun- MOTHER'S DAY; worship 9am; Sunday school and Bible class 10:30am
    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
    WORSHIP WORKERS
    Projector-  Sat- ?; Sun- Schlesselmann
    Elder- Sat- Linke, Sun- Rahn
    Ushers- Heitgerd, Linke, Linke, ?
    Acolyte- Berryman
    Lay reader- Sat- Sevier; Sun- Boeger
    Greeters-  Schirr
    Altar- Setup- Weigle; Clean Up- Turnure
    Organist- Siebold
    Tellers- Team #2
     ______________________________________________________________________________________
    NEWS: 
    NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER SERVICE "A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD" WAS WONDERFUL THIS MORNING!  About 40-50 people came and prayed.   
     
    A big thank you to Mrs. Robine for organizing the breakfast, to the many who donated items for the breakfast, to Mrs. Dreyer for playing the music for our service, and to the many from St. John's who showed up. 
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    MISSION FOR THE MONTH OF MAY IS AGAPE
     
    We have supported this organization for many years, ever since Pastor Langhoff along with a concerned group of individuals organized it and got it going back almost 20 years ago. 
     
    This year is a little different because two of their usual grants were denied this year totalling $145,000.  They are in desperate need of funds and support. 
     
    Anything you can provide will be a blessing to them and to the hundreds and even thousands of people they serve. 
    _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    LES SHERMAN HAS PASSED FROM DEATH TO LIFE ETERNAL
    Les was a wonderful Christian man who, for many years, labored and praised the Lord at St. John's. 
     
    His memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, May 14.  Visitation 11am-12noon; service- noon; luncheon immediately following. 
     
    Memorial gifts are to be made to St. John's Lutheran Church for the general fund. 
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    NAMES OF THIS YEAR'S GRADUATES REQUESTED
    I would like to know who all of the college graduates  are so that we can pray for them during worship in the weeks ahead.  
     
    So far I know of Torre Linke and David Tate as college graduates this year. David's graduation is this Saturday at Tulsa University and Torre's graduation is at Mizzou on the following Saturday, May 14th. 
     
    Allen Berryman and Miranda Linstruth are the high school graduates that I know of.
     
     
    You can also include friends and family members who are not members of St. John's here:
     
    From Lil and Dave Winter's family

    Stephen Slayden  MIZZOU    Saturday May 14
    Autumn Gobble   SLU            Thursday May 19
    Bethany Winter  Auxvasse High School     Friday May 20
    Nichole Slayden St. Charles High School   Sunday May 29
     
    Hendershots granddaughter 
     
    Reply to this email if you want to include anyone.
    ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    QUESTIONAIRES MAILED MONDAY
    As most of you know our church is going through a time that we call the CARE process.  CARE stands for Congregational Assessment and Renewal.  It is a time that we can take a step back and look at things that are going on in our church, assess what is good and bad, work on fixing the bad, reconcile and restore broken relationships, emphasize the good, and grow together as a congregation. 
     
    We took the first step last Wednesday night with the congregational meeting, at which Pastor Gene Wyssmann and Ken Wesemann led us through the process and introduced different ways of thinking about our church and also how the process will work.  
     
    TODAY OR TOMORROW each communicant member of the church  will get a questionnaire/survey in the mail (If there are four communicant members in yoru household you will get four surveys) that is two pages in length and will require your thought and input.  It will come with a self addresses and stamped envelope that will get mailed directly to Pastor Wyssmann who will collate all of the information he recieves, discuss it with Pastor Wesemann and President Mirly and then come back to St. John's to give us recommendations on how to move forward. 
     
    I urge you to complete the survey and send it in.  It is vital to the health and growth of the church that you do so. 
     
    God bless you as you contemplate the questions and answer them thoroughly.  
     ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
    YOUTH CHOIR TO SING THIS SUNDAY FOR MOTHER'S DAY
      __________________________________________________________________________________________________
    YOUTH GROUP TO CLEAN UP HIGHWAY 47 ON MAY 15 DURING AND AFTER SUNDAY SCHOOL TIME.
    We are planning for all Youth to do Hwy 47 clean-up on Sunday, May 15 (weather permitting).  We will meet in the Youth room after the service to have a devotion and then head out.  Afterwards we will go to Binkley park and have a picnic lunch.  
    ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    PRAYER REQUESTS:  (Please reply to this email to have prayer requests posted.)  
    For the HILGENDORF FAMILY as they mourn the loss of Gene's sister GERTIE BESSERT.
     
    For PAT MANNESS, former member of St. John's who is recovering well from surgery. 
     
    For MARVIN RAHN, Jim Rahn's father, who is having brain surgery this week.

    For THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS of LES SHERMAN who are mourning his passing.
     
    For ROBYN MCNEW'S BROTHER, KEN MEYER, who is receiving some new medications today.
     
    For VINCE KETTERER'S FATHER who had a massive stroke last night and isn't doing well. 
      
    For LISA RAUSCH'S DAD who continues to recover after falling and breaking a vertebrae.  It was a miracle he wasn't paralyzed.
     
    For NORBERT HEITGERD whose cancer has returned and who is going to be starting treatments soon.   

    For ALAN HOFELDT'S MOTHER who is recovering from digestion problems and is unable to eat.  
     
    For MARY SUE TOEDEBUSCH who is having serious problems and pain due to reumatoid arthritis. 
      
    For RUTH CANTRELL who is still having problems with her eye and with headaches.  THe cause has yet to be identified. 
     
    For OUR CHURCH as we begin to deal with our many conflicts and how to best resolve them and reconcile with one another. 











     

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