DEVOTION: (Jesus said) "Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise." Luke 10:36-37
A week or so ago, two stories came out of Texas. They are as different as different can be.
The first has to do with Staff Sergeant Chad Staples. Staples, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, had taken a bullet to protect a wounded comrade. That bullet left Staples paralyzed at the waist.
Recently, Staples was left stranded on the third floor of a Best Western Hotel. A power outage had put the elevator out of commission, so Staples called the front desk and asked for help in getting his bags and wheelchair down the stairs.
Rather than assisting, the clerk laughed. Sad story.
The second story is that of Xander Veno. Recently, four-year-old Veno saw a little girl struggling at the deep end of a swimming pool. He swam to her and held her head up, so she wouldn't drown. Exhausted by his efforts, Veno dropped to the bottom of the pool and was soon comatose.
The girl is in reasonable condition; but Xander Veno died at the hospital.
As I said, those two stories are as dissimilar as night and day. As far as I can tell, they have only one thing in common.
Each tells of how a person reacted when they were put into an unexpected situation. As you have seen, one person did well, and the other did not.
The same conclusion can be drawn in Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan. When confronted with an opportunity to serve, the Samaritan passed with flying colors, while the religious leaders crashed and burned.
This leads me to ask, how will you do when the Lord drops an unexpected opportunity in your lap? What is the cost you are willing to pay? How much inconvenience will you endure?
I know how far Chad Staples was willing to go. He sacrificed his legs and was willing to offer his life for a comrade. I know how far Xander Veno was willing to go.
Most importantly, I know how far the Savior went. Jesus gave His life for all of humanity. It's true; Jesus came into this world to offer up His life as the ransom that had to be paid if sinners were to be saved. He gave His all for those who didn't want, appreciate or applaud Him.
So the question remains: as someone who has been blessed by Jesus' sacrifice, how far would you go to show your appreciation and help someone else?
It's something worth thinking about, before the unexpected arrives.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, there are some who are heroes and some who are not, some who do what is right and others who prefer not to be disturbed in their wrongdoing. As Your saved children, allow us to show our thankful hearts by doing what is right. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday's QUIZ: Who is the Righteous Branch that Jeremiah is speaking of in Jeremiah 23:5? Jesus
Dianne Hance and Bob Nitzschke got it right.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
TODAy'S QUIZ: (2 part question)
Who was Irijah son of Shelemiah and what did he do to Jeremiah?
__________________________________________________________________________________
CATECHISM:
Question: How has Christ rescued you from the power of the devil?
Answer:
Christ has completely conquered the devil. Therefore the devil can no longer accuse me of my sins, and I can resist temptations.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CALENDAR:
Tues- quilting 9am-2pm; Bible study 11:30-12:15; PRAYER GROUP MEETS 6:30pm
Wed- Youth Group meets at 6pm in youth room, pizza and soda provided; BE THERE!
Sat- worship 5pm
Sun- worship 8:30; Sunday school 9:45; worship 11am
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NEWS:
PRAYER MEETING STARTING TOMORROW NIGHT at 6:30pm!!!
It will be a very simple time to lift each other up, and to lift up our church in prayer. We will be gin with a devotion, have discussion about the situations and people that need our prayer, pray for them and go home refreshed and knowing that our Lord God is with us and caring for our needs.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
HIGH SCHOOL KIDS COME TO CHURCH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT 6PM!!!
We are going to clean out the youth room, reorganize it, play some video games and maybe some air hockey or foosball, get a little basketball going outside, eat some pizza, and do a little Bible study!
LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE COMING SO I KNOW HOW MUCH PIZZA TO GET!!!
________________________________________________________________________________________________
HELPERS NEEDED FOR A NEW GOOD NEWS CLUB!!!
Right now I have two possible helpers if schedules can be worked out. I could use at least one or two more! Let me know if you are interested!!
As many of you know, CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) does an after school program called "Good News Club". The change to all elementary schools being preschool-5th grade has created an opportunity for us (St. John's) to host a GNC at Rebecca Boone. CEF has leaders in place to help us get started (They would eventually step out of the way and let us take over fully.) What we need is two or three volunteers, who like working with kids and want to see more of them come to Christ, to be a part of this exciting opportunity.
Please call me at 359-1061 to let me know if you are interested!!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SAVE THE DATE: Partners in Christ Married Couples Weekend Retreat
Immanuel Lutheran St. Charles invites you and your spouse along with other married couples throughout the Missouri District to the Partners in Christ Married Couples Weekend Retreat on Oct. 12-13, 2012. It is an updated regional adaptation of the former LCMS MO. District "Strands" weekend. It is designed for Christian Couples to get away from daily distractions, spend quality time together, rekindle romance, and celebrate our partnerships (with your Spouse, with Christ and with the other Christian Couples attending). The event will start with a "Meet and Greet" and build up to an "Old Fashioned Church Hall Wedding Reception"(Remember your special day?). Check out more details on Immanuel's Web site at http://tinyurl.com/d2tc3u8.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Projectors NEEDED for this weekend!!!
I still need people to sign up for the projector. Here are the openings for the next few weeks:
Sept 2- 8:30- 11am-
Sept 9- 11am-
Sept 16- 11am-
Sept 23- 8:30-
Sept 30- 8:30- 11am-
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A week or so ago, two stories came out of Texas. They are as different as different can be.
The first has to do with Staff Sergeant Chad Staples. Staples, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, had taken a bullet to protect a wounded comrade. That bullet left Staples paralyzed at the waist.
Recently, Staples was left stranded on the third floor of a Best Western Hotel. A power outage had put the elevator out of commission, so Staples called the front desk and asked for help in getting his bags and wheelchair down the stairs.
Rather than assisting, the clerk laughed. Sad story.
The second story is that of Xander Veno. Recently, four-year-old Veno saw a little girl struggling at the deep end of a swimming pool. He swam to her and held her head up, so she wouldn't drown. Exhausted by his efforts, Veno dropped to the bottom of the pool and was soon comatose.
The girl is in reasonable condition; but Xander Veno died at the hospital.
As I said, those two stories are as dissimilar as night and day. As far as I can tell, they have only one thing in common.
Each tells of how a person reacted when they were put into an unexpected situation. As you have seen, one person did well, and the other did not.
The same conclusion can be drawn in Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan. When confronted with an opportunity to serve, the Samaritan passed with flying colors, while the religious leaders crashed and burned.
This leads me to ask, how will you do when the Lord drops an unexpected opportunity in your lap? What is the cost you are willing to pay? How much inconvenience will you endure?
I know how far Chad Staples was willing to go. He sacrificed his legs and was willing to offer his life for a comrade. I know how far Xander Veno was willing to go.
Most importantly, I know how far the Savior went. Jesus gave His life for all of humanity. It's true; Jesus came into this world to offer up His life as the ransom that had to be paid if sinners were to be saved. He gave His all for those who didn't want, appreciate or applaud Him.
So the question remains: as someone who has been blessed by Jesus' sacrifice, how far would you go to show your appreciation and help someone else?
It's something worth thinking about, before the unexpected arrives.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, there are some who are heroes and some who are not, some who do what is right and others who prefer not to be disturbed in their wrongdoing. As Your saved children, allow us to show our thankful hearts by doing what is right. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday's QUIZ: Who is the Righteous Branch that Jeremiah is speaking of in Jeremiah 23:5? Jesus
Dianne Hance and Bob Nitzschke got it right.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
TODAy'S QUIZ: (2 part question)
Who was Irijah son of Shelemiah and what did he do to Jeremiah?
__________________________________________________________________________________
CATECHISM:
Question: How has Christ rescued you from the power of the devil?
Answer:
Christ has completely conquered the devil. Therefore the devil can no longer accuse me of my sins, and I can resist temptations.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CALENDAR:
Tues- quilting 9am-2pm; Bible study 11:30-12:15; PRAYER GROUP MEETS 6:30pm
Wed- Youth Group meets at 6pm in youth room, pizza and soda provided; BE THERE!
Sat- worship 5pm
Sun- worship 8:30; Sunday school 9:45; worship 11am
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NEWS:
PRAYER MEETING STARTING TOMORROW NIGHT at 6:30pm!!!
It will be a very simple time to lift each other up, and to lift up our church in prayer. We will be gin with a devotion, have discussion about the situations and people that need our prayer, pray for them and go home refreshed and knowing that our Lord God is with us and caring for our needs.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
HIGH SCHOOL KIDS COME TO CHURCH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT 6PM!!!
We are going to clean out the youth room, reorganize it, play some video games and maybe some air hockey or foosball, get a little basketball going outside, eat some pizza, and do a little Bible study!
LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE COMING SO I KNOW HOW MUCH PIZZA TO GET!!!
________________________________________________________________________________________________
HELPERS NEEDED FOR A NEW GOOD NEWS CLUB!!!
Right now I have two possible helpers if schedules can be worked out. I could use at least one or two more! Let me know if you are interested!!
As many of you know, CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) does an after school program called "Good News Club". The change to all elementary schools being preschool-5th grade has created an opportunity for us (St. John's) to host a GNC at Rebecca Boone. CEF has leaders in place to help us get started (They would eventually step out of the way and let us take over fully.) What we need is two or three volunteers, who like working with kids and want to see more of them come to Christ, to be a part of this exciting opportunity.
Please call me at 359-1061 to let me know if you are interested!!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SAVE THE DATE: Partners in Christ Married Couples Weekend Retreat
Immanuel Lutheran St. Charles invites you and your spouse along with other married couples throughout the Missouri District to the Partners in Christ Married Couples Weekend Retreat on Oct. 12-13, 2012. It is an updated regional adaptation of the former LCMS MO. District "Strands" weekend. It is designed for Christian Couples to get away from daily distractions, spend quality time together, rekindle romance, and celebrate our partnerships (with your Spouse, with Christ and with the other Christian Couples attending). The event will start with a "Meet and Greet" and build up to an "Old Fashioned Church Hall Wedding Reception"(Remember your special day?). Check out more details on Immanuel's Web site at http://tinyurl.com/d2tc3u8.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Projectors NEEDED for this weekend!!!
I still need people to sign up for the projector. Here are the openings for the next few weeks:
Sept 2- 8:30- 11am-
Sept 9- 11am-
Sept 16- 11am-
Sept 23- 8:30-
Sept 30- 8:30- 11am-
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
STEWARDSHIP SPOLIGHT FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST IS OUR OWN LITTLE LAMBS PRESCHOOL!!!
What a great opportunity to support a mission right here! If you don't want to do the golf outing, but you still want to help Little Lambs just put a check in the offering plate that is specifically designated to Little Lambs. They start school on August 16.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PRAYERS:
For MARY AUBUCHON who is hospitalized with severe eye pain.
For PAUL BRENDEL, Barb Dreyer's dad) who is recovering from internal bleeding.
For RAYMOND, son of Lillian Winter, who is having surgery this week.
For DONNA HEITGERD who is having surgery this week.
For CLYDE SPRICK, grandfather of Shawn and Sierra Jaeger, who is dealing with sever cancer complications.
For SIERRA JAEGER, as she recovers from pneumonia.
For BRENDA, daughter of Cal and Betty Tameler, who is dealing with complications and a fever after her hysterectomy.
For DOLORES DEBLAZE as she has two more days of radiation left.
For Denise Schlesselman's grandma, DOROTHY SCHLESSELMAN, as the spinal tap the doctors did revealed an unidentified virus.
For ERNA VANHORN who is recovering well from surgery at Delmar Gardens
For BILL MCKENZIE as he recovers from a stroke at home.
For JOYCE SCHIEN as she recovers from a stroke. She is at the DePaul rehab hospital.
For BOB LAMPEN, Karin Klaustermeier's dad, as his treatment is doing some good, and as he is starting a new treatment for his liver cancer.
For JEANETTE KOEHLER as she reocvers from vascular surgery to relieve pain and help with circulation in her foot and as she works hard to get back home.
For ALL OF OUR FARMERS AND ALL WHO DEPEND ON THE LAND AND ON RAIN, that God would provide for their needs even during this drought.
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