DEVOTION: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 English Standard Version (ESV)
Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision
17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty;[a] walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly." 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram,[b] but your name shall be Abraham,[c] for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
15 And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah[a] shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give[b] you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.
Every three years this reading comes up after the reading we had last week about Abraham's almost sacrifice of his son, Isaac. I don't know why it comes after it, but I'm sure the guys who put the lectionary together had a reason. Maybe it was as a reminder of why God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son.
What I mean by that is this. God needed Abraham to know that He was the most important person in his life. It wouldn't be Isaac. What happens to a lot of parents is that their kids become idols. They become THE most important thing to them. Contrary to popular belief, your kids aren't the most important person to you. God is!
Don't get carried away here. I'm not saying that your kids aren't important. What I am saying is that there needs to be a distinctive order. You can't put your kids above God. For instance, God says bring your kids to church. You say, but my kids have soccer on Sunday, or my son is so tired and he really likes to sleep in on Sunday. Do you get what I mean? What is most important to you? Sure, you can worship God anywhere, but what does the Lord say in his commandment? Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.
Sure, give your kids every opportunity afforded to them. Help them to succeed in everything, but don't do it in spite of their faith. Don't do it in spite of their relationship with the Lord. All of us parents, including myself, have something to repent of when it comes to this.
This Sunday I am going to have a meeting with as many parents and kids as will show up. It is going to be a time that we get together to discuss the faith of our children and what we can do to help to increase that faith. If you are a parent of a kids 0-18 I expect you to be there for this meeting. Please RSVP TODAY so I know you'll be there!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me my children as a gift. Help me to treat them as gifts from you and not as idols. Amen.
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CALENDAR:
Tues- Quilting 9-2
Wed- Dress Sewing 9-Noon; Ladies Aid noon
Thurs- Karate 6:15-7:45
Fri- Assemble newsletter 9am
Sat- worship 5pm
Sun- worship 8:30 and 11; Sunday school 9:45
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WORSHIP WORKERS:
Acolyte- Wed- Cameron Faerber 8:30- Addie Hoelscher; 11- Savannah Masters
Ushers- Wed-Don Turnure, Don Nolte, Brent Davis, Larry Schulze; Sat- Don Tate; Sun- Rich Talbert, Tom Linke, Don Hance, Kent Jacobsmeyer; 11- Jason Figura
Altar- Wednesday candles- Don Hance; Sun- set up- Don Hance; Clean Up- Paul and Teresa Brockfeld
Communion assistant- Sat- Randy Fischer; 8:30- Rich Talbert, 11- Al Benton
Greeters- 8:30- Don and Donna Sherman; 11- Dan and Lisa Rausch
Projectionists- Sat- Kathy Fischer; 8:30- McKenzie 11- Cameron Faerber
Lay Readers- Sat- Don Nolte; 8:30- Steve McDowell 11- Loren Howard
Organist- Wed- Pat Golden; Sun- Ned Quest
Pianists- Sat- Molly Hendershot
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YESTERDAY'S QUIZ: What were the Israelites supposed to do to sorcerers, spiritists, mediums, and fortune tellers that were found to be in their midst?
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NEWS:
ALL PARENTS NEED TO RSVP TO ME SO I KNOW YOU'RE COMING TO OUR MEETING ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25 @ NOON!!
If you have any kids between the ages of 0-18 who are members of St. John's, I want you at a luncheon and meeting on Sunday, Feb 25 at noon to discuss the future of your kid's faith life and your involvement in it. The meeting will not take more than an hour, but will hopefully make a lasting impact on how you see your role in your child's faith life, what you can do to help it, and how the church and pastor can help you help your child. Let's grow our youth into the great Christian adults God intended them to be!
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CHILI COOK-OFF AND BOARD GAMES THIS SATURDAY, FEB. 24 @ 6PM!!
Do you think you have THE BEST chili recipe known to man? Do you like to compete? Then sign up for our chili cook-off and come and join us for a fun evening with your friends at St. John's!! Invite your friends! We'll start right after our Saturday worship!!
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LENTEN MIDWEEK SUPPER WEDNESDAY at 5:30 AND WORSHIP AT 6:30
This year during our Lenten worship we're going to do something different. We will be doing an interactive message time in which we will all formulate our own versions of the "Gospel in seven words".
If someone were to come to you and ask you to tell them what you believe in seven words or less, what would you say? In this fast paced, information age, you may not have much more than that to get the Gospel out to someone. How would you respond to that request?
I am very excited to see how we come up with our conclusions and what our extremely concise profession and confessions of faith will look like! You'll have to join us on Wednesday to find out what it's all about!!
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YOUTH GROUP STEAK DINNER AND AUCTION IS SATURDAY, MARCH 10!!
Tickets will go on sale at church this weekend after services.
AUCTION ITEMS ARE NEEEDED!!
If you have any good items that they youth could use for the auction, please bring them by church any time we're open! If you leave something when pastor isn't there just put a note on it saying it was from you! Thank you in advance!
RETIREMENT SEMINARS SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY, APRIL 3 AND TUESDAY APRIL 24 AT 6PM!!
Denny Hagan from Eldercare Associates will be here on April 3 to talk about Identity protection and Asset preservation. And then again on April 24 to talk about Social Security. ICE CREAM WILL BE SERVED!!
Please sign up on the counter in the narthex or call the church office to let us know you will be there.
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OFFERING ENVELOPES ARE ON THE SHELVES UNDERNEATH THE CHURCH MAILBOXES IN THE NARTHEX IF YOU HAVEN'T PICKED THEM UP YET!
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OUR LAST DIRECTORY (Last updated in August of 2016) has a lot of outdated phone numbers. If your number has changed, please call the office 456-2888 and let Terry know!
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DUE TO SOME TROUBLES WITH OUR CHURCH EMAIL ADDRESS WE HAVE HAD TO GET A NEW ONE
Our new email address is sjwarrlutheran@gmail.com. Please change it in your address books!!
Pastor's email, revklaus@hotmail.com will remain the same.
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LITTLE LAMBS IS STILL SELLING CANDY BARS AND COULD USE YOUR HELP!
If you'd like to help sell a box or two of candy bars as a fundraiser for Little Lambs preschool. Let Terry or one of the preschool ladies know. They'll hook you up right quick!
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DO YOU HAVE A THRIVENT FINANCIAL ACCOUNT OR POLICY?
You may be eligible to receive money for Little Lambs or Good Shepherd!! Go to www.thrivent.com/choicedollars to check it out!
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OPERATION BACKPACK DONATIONS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY IS CANNED VEGETABLES.
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PRAYERS:
For DENISE HOOKER (Betty Tameler's daughter) who is having surgery today but who is also getting ready to go on hospice if the surgery doesn't work.
For BILL MCKENZIE, (Terry McKenzie's father in law), who is having severe heart troubles and is not a candidate for surgery.
For DON NOLTE and PAT JAEGER both recovering from carpel tunnel surgery.
For JOANNA HOELSCHER who is recovering from surgery at home.
For LIL WINTER as she deals with heart troubles.
For GEORGE HOESCHER, GINA BOHNING (Roy Bohning's wife), and BUCK HAMPTON, as they continue to deal with cancer.
PRAYERS FOR OUR MILITARY PERSONNEL:
For COLTON FIGURA deployed to Turkey, SAM HARGROVE deployed in Kuwait and DAN DREYER deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, that the Lord would keep them safe from harm during their service and bring them home safely.
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.
