"Joy Comes with the Morning" A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple.
30 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.[a]
4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.[b]
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.[c]
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
"I shall never be moved."
7 By your favor, O Lord,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
8 To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9 "What profit is there in my death,[d]
if I go down to the pit?[e]
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my helper!"
11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
I've spent a lot of time the past couple weeks trying to think of how best to communicate the idea of stewardship within a church setting. I think verses 11-12 in this passage says it best.
He has turned our mourning into dancing and have loosed our sackcloth and clothed us with gladness SO THAT our glory may sing His praise and NOT BE SILENT, and so that we can give thanks to God forever!
Our purpose on this earth is to sing praise and to give thanks to God forever! We don't just do that for an hour on Sunday morning or Saturday night. Nor do we just do it with a little piece of our being. We can't section God off or praise Him piecemeal. He isn't just the God of our time and not our talents or money. He's the God of ALL OF IT!!
And so, when He turns our mourning and sadness over sins into joy and gladness over His salvation, we will praise Him with our whole being, body and soul, finances and time, day in and day out, with EVERYTHING we are and EVERYTHING we have.
I urge you to think about what part of your life is not praising God today! Do you have a chokehold on your wallet so tight that a crowbar can't get it open, because you trust your money more than you trust God to use your money for His glory? Is your time so precious to you that you count every second and think that only a part of it is worth giving up to the Lord in honor and praise and not all of it? Are you using your talents, whatever they might be for your own gain and not for the gain of the kingdom?
If this is the case at all, turn to the Lord, REPENT OF YOUR SIN, and turn to the God who will most certainly turn your mourning into dancing and give you new party clothes of joy to wear!
Let us pray: Lord continually turn my heart to you so that I may dance and sing in Your presence today and forever. Amen.
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CALENDAR:
Tues- Quilting 9-2
Thurs- Alzheimers Support Group 1pm; No L 101 because Pastor is in MN for wedding
Fri- Pastor in MN for wedding
Sat- Worship 5pm
Sun- worship 8:30; Sunday school 9:45; Worship 11
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WORSHIP WORKERS:
Acolyte- 8:30- Zack Hoelscher 11- Hannah Johnson
Ushers- Scott Heitgerd, Alex Heitgerd, Bob Linke and Tom Linke
Altar- Set up- Terry Mc Kenzie; Clean Up- Terry Mc Kenzie
Elders- Sat- Randy Sweet; 8:30- John Hachtel; 11- Steve Robine
Greeters- 8:30- John and Anna Hoenig; 11- Dave and Lil Winter
Lay Readers- Sat- Randy Sweet 8:30- Lois Boeger; 11- Teresa Brockfeld
Organist- Rachel Fisher
Piano- Molly Hendershot
Projectionists: Sat- Perricone; 8:30- McKenzie 11- Gus Klaustermeier
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YESTERDAY'S QUIZ: Who is Solomon writing to in the Song of Solomon?
(A very good answer from Pat King)
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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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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.
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.
