Added prayer requests for Molly Hendershot and Marianne Linke: Daily Email: Monday, June 6, 2016

DEVOTION: Psalm 32:1-7 (ESV)
 
"Blessed Are the Forgiven"  A Maskil^[a] of David.

32 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
² Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³ For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up^[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah

⁵ I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,"
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

⁶ Therefore let everyone who is godly
    offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
    they shall not reach him.
⁷ You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

 
First of all, the word "maskil" refers to the type of Psalm it was A maskil was a penitential Psalm of confession and absolution.  Secondly, the word "Selah" doesn't really have a translation, but was probably referring to the accompaniment of the Psalm by harps, as Psalms were most often sung in those days. 
 
I love this Psalm especially for its clear presentation of the Gospel!  When David says, "Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity" you can almost hear the relief and peace in David's voice as he would sing this out loud. 
 
After David's adultery with Bathsheba and his murder to cover it up, David was doomed to die.  He pronounced it himself.  Yet, when Nathan told David that he was not going to die, either for these sins or eternally in hell, David was given complete and total grace.  There was no reason for God to keep from punishing David with death.   The boy that was born to Bathsheba died, and so I'm sure that was heartbreaking to David just to know that he had caused this death, but neither the boy or David would be punished eternally. 
 
There are going to be things in your life that are worthy of eternal death.  ALL SIN is worthy of eternal death.  But God, who is never ending in His mercy and grace, forgives all that sin and cleanses you from all unrighteousness.  He doesn't count any of it against you!  Shwew! What a relief!  Praise the Lord!

Now, this news doesn't give you a license to sin.  Jesus' forgiveness doesn't give you that right!  It gives you the right and some would even say, the obligation, to live in that grace by living to serve and love God!!   So do it!  Live in the love of Jesus and use your money, your time, and your abilities to further God's kingdom of grace and give the same relief you have to someone else!
 
Let us pray: Lord, thank you for not counting my sin against me.  Help me to live in your grace by serving you with all my gifts!  Amen.

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CALENDAR:

Tues- Quilting 9-2
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:     How long did Solomon reign in Jerusalem and who succeeded him as king?

(Answer from Pat King)

 

No nifty song today, just a short history lesson.

Sol got to be king (according to the Jewish Virtual Library) in approx. 967 B.C.E. and finally bit the big one, after 40 years as king. After he croaked, his son Rehoboam – I know, it sounds sort of like some sort of bug bomb – became king. And being the totally spoiled brat that he was, listened to his dim-witted friends instead of men who really knew what they were talking about, and royally ticked off the populace, who'd hoped for some change with a new, young ruler. This resulted in Sol's vast empire collapsing, and the Israeli kingdom being divided into two parts.

To be fair, Sol actually set the stage for the collapse of his empire, by his behavior during the last years of his life. He had taken many foreign wives, whom he allowed to worship other gods; even building shrines for their sacrifices. Within his kingdom, he placed heavy taxation on the people, who became bitter. And also had the people work as soldiers, chief officers and commanders of his chariots and cavalry. He granted special privileges to the tribes of Judah and this alienated the northern tribes. The prophet Ahijah of Shiloh prophesied that Jeroboam son of Nebat would become king over ten of the 12 tribes, instead of one of Solomon's sons.

And that's the scoop!

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TODAY'S QUIZ: How was Ahab killed?

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NEWS!!!! 

A BIG THANKS TO ALL WHO DONATED TO THE GROSS OUT CHALLENGE!  IT WAS REALLY GROSS!! 

I can still smell a hint of a combo of marachino cherries, sardines, and vanilla cake mix.

$776.34 was raised all together with Pastor getting $680.59 of it.  If it wasn't for a $500 check and a $100 check Kelsey would've won.  It just isn't fair.  Seriously thanks to ALL who donated to help our youth make it to New Orleans!
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HOLY YOGA THIS SUNDAY AT NOON!!

Come praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and get some good health going on at the same time!!

 

Amanda Nordwald is a certified Yoga instructor.  She will be leading you through a one hour class. 

 

Babysitting will be provided!!

 

Bring your own yoga mat if you have one.

 

This is a fundraiser for our youth group, so the cost for this one hour session is $10!!!

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FREE WILL OFFERING FOR PASTOR SIMON PETER WAAKO AND FAMILY THIS COMING WEEKEND!!

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.

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STEPHEN MINISTRY IS REBOOTING AND REENERGIZING AND NEEDS MORE FOLKS TO BE A PART OF IT!! 

Read below if you would like to know more about Stephen Ministry and what it entails!!

 

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

Everything that a Stephen Minister talks about with a care giver is to be kept between the Stephen Minister and the care receiver.  It is a very private matter and cannot and should not be divulged to anyone, unless that care receiver requests it. 

 

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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PAPER RECYCLING AT CHURCH

DO NOT LEAVE THE PAPER IN A PLASTIC BAG WHEN YOU DROP IT IN THE BIN.  DUMP IT OUT OF THE BAG! 

 

No cardboard, plastic, or foam allowed.

 

You may have noticed the big red dumpster on the parking lot.  That is for you to dump your used paper!!

Any kind and color of paper is acceptable.  No cardboard. 

 

Church will get money per pound.

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SCRIP PROGRAM CONTINUES!!
Here's how it works:

1. Pick up an order form from the counter in the narthex or from Marilyn in the office.

2. Mark how many cards you would like to order from each retailer you use, and fill in the totals.  (If you need help, stop by the office or talk to Marilyn or ask me after worship.)

3. Attach a check to your order form made out to St.John's.

4. Marilyn will place the order on a certain date each month.

5. Pick up your cards from your church mailbox.

6. Use your cards just like money at the various stores.

 

Please use this program!  It is an easy way for you to help YOUR church raise money for its ministries!

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TRIBUTE TO VETERANS MEMORIAL PAVER PROJECT IS UNDERWAY

Place your order online at www.tributetoveteransmemorial.org  or get an application from the office.

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PASTOR KLAUSTERMEIER IS BIKING 1,000 MILES THIS SUMMER FOR LEADACHILD!!!

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.

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OPERATION BACKPACK FOR MAY IS CANNED FRUIT!!!

Remember this is for the poor and needy children of our community and county that often receive two breakfast and lunch at school, and have very little or no food at home.

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GENERAL PRAYER 

For MOLLY HENDERSHOT, who fell last night and broke her shoulder.  She is having surgery on it today.

 

For MARIANNE LINKE who is hospitalized with a severe infection.

 

For PAT JAEGER, who is having knee replacement surgery on Wednesday.

 

For LIL WINTER who is recovering from a fall at Delmar Gardens in Ofallon.

 

For ROGER KLAUSTERMEIER, Pastor's dad,  who is recovering from gall bladder surgery.  He had to be admitted yesterday, but should be going home today.  

 

For BARB PERRICONE who is back home and continue to recover from pneumonia.

 

For BRIAN TAMPOW, a friend of Steve and Toni Mauch, who has an inoperable tumor near his carotid artery and will need to go through extensive chemo and radiation treatment.

 

For CHERYL, a cousin of Tony and Sandra Perricone, who is going through breast cancer treatment right now. 

  

 For DENISE SCHLESSELMANN as she finishes up her current mission work in the Czech Republic and makes her decisions for her future.