Sunday, April 22, 2012
Thy Strong Word
Pastor Merrill will be hosting the 'Thy Strong Word' program on KDSN radio this week Mon- Sat, April 15-22, at 6:25AM. Start your day off with this devotion on God's Word. http://www.kdsnradio.com
This Week @ St.John
- WED APR 25- 9:00am Ladies Bible Study
- 3:30pm 5th &6th Grade Confirmation
8th Grade Review - 8:00pm Board of Elders
- SUN APR 29- 8:45am Sunday School & Bible Class
- 10:00am 5th Sunday Contemporary Worship
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Appreciation Coffee
National Volunteer Week is
April 15 – April 21, 2012
St. John's would like to say
'Thank You' to all of our volunteers!
So, please join us at our
Appreciation Coffee
Monday, April 16
9:00am-11:00am
In the church basement.
This Week @ St.John
- MON APR 16- 9:00am St. John Appreciation Coffee
- WED APR 18- 9:00am Ladies Bible Study
- 3:30pm Confirmation
- 8:00pm Voters Assembly
- THU APR 19- 9:00am LWML Rally at Immanuel (Ricketts Triple Parish), Charter Oak Township
- SUN APR 22 (Earth Day)- 8:45am Sunday School & Bible Class
- 10:00am Worship
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Easter Greetings from Nigeria
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Dear friends in Christ... Easter time is the most important date on the calendar for us the Friedrichs family and we're sure for all true Christians around the world. We give thanks to Jesus for paying the ultimate price by dying on the cross. It is through His death and resurrection that we are saved and have hope of a life everlasting. Thank you Jesus! In Romans 1:4-5 we read; And Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority to tell Gentiles everywhere what he has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. |
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Sunday, April 08, 2012
This Week @ St.John
- MON APR 9- Church office closed
- TUE APR 10- 8:45am Pastors Conference- St. Paul, Ida Grove
- WED APR 11- 9:00am Ladies Bible Study
- 3:30pm Confirmation
- 8:00pm Church Council Meeting
- SAT APR 14- Annual Meeting @ Camp Okoboji
- SUN APR 15- 8:45am Sunday School & Bible Class
- 10:00am Worship w/ communion
APRIL 15-21 is National Volunteer Week
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Save The Date! (for VBS)
Make plans now to attend...
St. John VBS 2012
July 29—Aug 2
Volunteers Needed! Please contact Bethany at 3397
This Week @ St.John
- TUE APR 3- 6:30am Men's Bible Study
- WED APR 4- 9:00am Ladies Lenten Retreat
- 3:30pm Confirmation
- 6:30pm LYF Sunrise Service practice
- 7:00pm Contemporary Choir practice
- THR APR 5- 1:30pm LWML
- 7:00pm Maundy Thursday Worship with Communion
- FRI APR 6- 7:00pm Good Friday Tenebrae Service
- SAT APR 7- 9:00am LYF Set up for Easter Breakfast
- SUN APR 8- 6:30am Easter Sunrise Worship (Communion)
- 7:30am LYF Easter Breakfast
- 8:45am Sunday School (No Adult Bible Study)
- 10:00am Worship with Communion
TIME TO ORDER LILIES- be sure to sign up in the Church office. The cost is $6.50
BLOOD DRIVE- Charter Oak Community Blood Drive April 9, 11:00am-1:00pm at Charter Oak Library. Make an appointment by calling 800-287-4903 or visit www.lifeservebloodcenter.org
LWML SPRING RALLY- Thurs, April 19th at 9:00am at Immanuel Lutheran, Charter Oak Township (Rickets Triple Parish).
SCHOLARSHIPS- The Lutheran Church Extension Fund is offering $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors or current college students in the districts in Iowa, MN, ND or North WI. For complete rules and application, visit www.lcefuppermidwest.org/publications. Deadline is May 1, 2012
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Come and see, then go and tell;
He is risen indeed!
Dear Friends in Christ,
I must confess that I have always been puzzled by the end of the Easter story in Marl's Gospel. (Mark 16:1-8 is the Easter Gospel for Series B, which we are following this year.) Mark's account begins with the women journeying to the tomb "very early on the first day of the week" to complete the burial of Jesus. They were worried about the stone, but when they arrived at the tomb they saw a young man, an angel, who told them "He has risen! He is not here! Go and tell His disciples and Peter."
All this is consistent with what we know from the other Gospels. But then Mark's account takes a strange turn in verse 8: "Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid."
And there the story ends. This is the Gospel of the Lord! No message for the disciples, no appearance of Jesus. The women don't say anything because they are afraid! (Yes, Mark 16:9-20 does tell us of appearances of Jesus, but it is not clear that these verses were part of Mark's original Gospel. Some scholars think Mark's Gospel originally ended at verse 8, others think the original ending may have been lost.)
So if Mark were the only witness of Jesus' resurrection, things would be much different. Without anyone to tell us they saw Jesus alive, we could not be sure He was truly risen. Thankfully, God gave us multiple witnesses who wrote down the events of Jesus' resurrection. We have the complete picture. From Matthew we learn that the women met Jesus on their way back from the tomb. They came to Him, clasped His feet, and worshiped Him. Jesus repeated the command to go and tell His disciples. Luke tells us that they actually did go and tell the eleven disciples-- but the eleven did not believe them. Luke also mentions that Peter got up and ran to the tomb and saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and went away wondering what happened. John relates that Jesus appeared to the disciples that evening, when they were gathered in the upper room behind locked doors. He said, "Peace be with you," and showed them his hands and side. And John notes, "The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord."
We are thankful to have the whole story. We are thankful that many people saw Jesus alive, that some of them wrote down what they saw so that we may know and believe.
But there are some people that may only have one witness to Jesus' resurrection, and that witness may be you or me. We will go to the empty tomb again this Easter morning as we worship. We will hear again the good news: "Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!" But what will we do with that message? Will the "last word" about us be, "And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid"?
As He did to the women who fled from the tomb afraid, Jesus comes to us with ample reassurance that He is indeed risen from the dead. The eyewitness accounts of men who dies for their faith in the resurrection are strong evidence that Jesus is indeed risen. But faith also sees the risen Jesus. He has "appeared" to us! He speaks to us in His Word. He comes to us and we recognize Him in the breaking of bread at His Holy Supper. Jesus gives us everything we need to believe-- and then to go and tell.
I invite every member of St.John to take the journey with the women to our Savior's empty tomb, whether early on Sunday morning for Sunrise worship or at the regular worship time of 10:00am. Meet your risen Lord in His Word. Eat and drink at His table. Then go and tell the good news: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
I must confess that I have always been puzzled by the end of the Easter story in Marl's Gospel. (Mark 16:1-8 is the Easter Gospel for Series B, which we are following this year.) Mark's account begins with the women journeying to the tomb "very early on the first day of the week" to complete the burial of Jesus. They were worried about the stone, but when they arrived at the tomb they saw a young man, an angel, who told them "He has risen! He is not here! Go and tell His disciples and Peter."
All this is consistent with what we know from the other Gospels. But then Mark's account takes a strange turn in verse 8: "Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid."
And there the story ends. This is the Gospel of the Lord! No message for the disciples, no appearance of Jesus. The women don't say anything because they are afraid! (Yes, Mark 16:9-20 does tell us of appearances of Jesus, but it is not clear that these verses were part of Mark's original Gospel. Some scholars think Mark's Gospel originally ended at verse 8, others think the original ending may have been lost.)
So if Mark were the only witness of Jesus' resurrection, things would be much different. Without anyone to tell us they saw Jesus alive, we could not be sure He was truly risen. Thankfully, God gave us multiple witnesses who wrote down the events of Jesus' resurrection. We have the complete picture. From Matthew we learn that the women met Jesus on their way back from the tomb. They came to Him, clasped His feet, and worshiped Him. Jesus repeated the command to go and tell His disciples. Luke tells us that they actually did go and tell the eleven disciples-- but the eleven did not believe them. Luke also mentions that Peter got up and ran to the tomb and saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and went away wondering what happened. John relates that Jesus appeared to the disciples that evening, when they were gathered in the upper room behind locked doors. He said, "Peace be with you," and showed them his hands and side. And John notes, "The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord."
We are thankful to have the whole story. We are thankful that many people saw Jesus alive, that some of them wrote down what they saw so that we may know and believe.
But there are some people that may only have one witness to Jesus' resurrection, and that witness may be you or me. We will go to the empty tomb again this Easter morning as we worship. We will hear again the good news: "Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!" But what will we do with that message? Will the "last word" about us be, "And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid"?
As He did to the women who fled from the tomb afraid, Jesus comes to us with ample reassurance that He is indeed risen from the dead. The eyewitness accounts of men who dies for their faith in the resurrection are strong evidence that Jesus is indeed risen. But faith also sees the risen Jesus. He has "appeared" to us! He speaks to us in His Word. He comes to us and we recognize Him in the breaking of bread at His Holy Supper. Jesus gives us everything we need to believe-- and then to go and tell.
I invite every member of St.John to take the journey with the women to our Savior's empty tomb, whether early on Sunday morning for Sunrise worship or at the regular worship time of 10:00am. Meet your risen Lord in His Word. Eat and drink at His table. Then go and tell the good news: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
Easter joy and peace in our risen Savior,
Pastor Merrill
Breaking Ground
The whole congregation gathers on the front steps to commemorate breaking ground for the construction of our new Fellowship Hall.
Members of the Building Committee broke ground after Pastor did, "in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Other congregational groups were also given the opportunity to ceremonially break ground, including the Board of Elders, the Church Council, Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) Board of Education, Lutheran Youth Fellowship (LYF), and Sunday School children.
The groundbreaking was the culmination of an almost two year campaign of "Prayer, Praise and Progress" during which the congregation auctioned off parts of their old school building, raised the building, and began raising pledges to fund the building of a new Fellowship Hall.
Last summer, volunteers remodeled the church basement, creating Sunday School classrooms after the old Education building was torn down.More recently the church offices were reconfigured by volunteers so that the lobby could become an entryway to the new addition. Contractors estimate that the new, more easily accessible Fellowship Hall, complete with kitchen and storage should be completed by sometime this Fall.
Members of the Building Committee broke ground after Pastor did, "in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Other congregational groups were also given the opportunity to ceremonially break ground, including the Board of Elders, the Church Council, Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) Board of Education, Lutheran Youth Fellowship (LYF), and Sunday School children.
The groundbreaking was the culmination of an almost two year campaign of "Prayer, Praise and Progress" during which the congregation auctioned off parts of their old school building, raised the building, and began raising pledges to fund the building of a new Fellowship Hall.
Last summer, volunteers remodeled the church basement, creating Sunday School classrooms after the old Education building was torn down.More recently the church offices were reconfigured by volunteers so that the lobby could become an entryway to the new addition. Contractors estimate that the new, more easily accessible Fellowship Hall, complete with kitchen and storage should be completed by sometime this Fall.
Pastor Merrill begins Palm Sunday services
Even the youngest among us participated in the Palm Sunday processional (above) and the ground-breaking (below).
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