St. John's Lutheran Church and School
The Mission
The Journal of St. John's Reaching Farther
For the week of August 26, 2018
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Sunday Worship Services
8:00 & 10:45 a.m.
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Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday, August 26, 2018
"You're so Emotional!: Worry"
(Sermon Series Week 3 of 4)
Pastor Ben Roberts
Old Testament: Psalm 91
Epistle: 1 Peter 5:6-11
Holy Gospel: Matthew 6:25-34
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When it comes to our emotions, we often feel (no pun intended) that they can be either a great gift…or a great curse. For Christians, emotions can be troubling, frustrating and untrustworthy. Some emotions seem deeply spiritual; others can appear downright sinful! Yet, they are part and parcel of our everyday experience of being human. And the writers of the Psalms knew this. Reading through the Psalms means reading through a vast trove of emotions, all of them centered on life with God and the world we live in. In this sermon series, “You’re So Emotional!”, we’ll be looking through some of these Psalms. We’ll see how they not only express the emotions we feel…but how God shapes them in ways that glorify Him and keep them from harming us and others.
9/2: You’re So Emotional: Joy (Psalm 33:1-22)
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New Sermon Series Begins September 9th!
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“STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND:
Thriving in a World Where You’re Not Welcome”
Let’s face it: the “good ol’ days” are gone, or going fast. Church attendance and membership is declining among many congregations. The Church no longer holds a prominent place in the prevailing culture. Instead, we are on the margins. Many people are unaware of the Christian story, indifferent to it and, increasingly, hostile towards it. We live in a “Post-Christian” culture. As we look out at the surrounding culture, we perceive that we are strangers…strangers living in a strange land.
This was the situation for the readers of Peter’s first letter. They found themselves “strangers and exiles” in the first-century Roman Empire. They were facing slander and abuse for their faith in Jesus. But Peter’s words in his letter are words of hope, courage and faithful witness to those they were called to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light.”
1 Peter is also God’s Word to His Church today living as “strangers and exiles”, giving us the same hope and courage in the face of the “strange land” we live in. In this sermon series, “Strangers in a Strange Land”, we will be looking at the new situation we find ourselves in, at the challenges we face, and especially at the ways the Lord shapes our life by His grace and salvation in such a way that those who observe these “strangers” would “glorify God on the day of visitation.”
9/9: Strangers in a Strange Land (1 Peter 1:1-9)
9/16: Distinctive Strangers (1 Peter 1:13-21)
9/23: Caring Strangers (1 Peter 1:22-2:3)
9/30: Honorable Strangers (1 Peter 2:9-14, 18, 3:1-2, 7)
10/7: Answering Strangers (1 Peter 3:8-17)
10/14: Hopeful Strangers (1 Peter 4:12-19)
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St. John's Confirmation Instruction
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Beginning, Wednesday, August 29 at 6:30 p.m.
All Youth in 7th - 12th Grade Invited to Attend
Another year of Confirmation at St. John's is upon us! There have been some changes to the program from 2017-2018 year. All details regarding this year's program can be found by clicking the links below:
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2019 NYG Commitment Meeting Rescheduled
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We have rescheduled our Sunday, August 26th, NYG Commitment Meeting to Sunday, September 9th from Noon to 2:00 p.m. in the Heritage Room. Click the button below for further details about this amazing faith experience!
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Sunday Morning Parenting Bible Study Kick-Off
Saturday, September 15 - 3:00 p.m.
(Hemminger's House)
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Did you realize that your children are like "arrows in the hands of a warrior?" Find out more...Join us in the Nursery on Sunday, September 16 at 9:25 a.m. for "FamilyLife's Art to Parenting: Aiming Your Child's Heart Toward God."
In addition...let's gather at the Hemminger House on Saturday, September 15 at 3:00 p.m. for a BBQ Kick-Off! Bring your kids and a favorite dish to share...we will provide the meat and drinks!
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Early Risers Bible Study
Thursdays at 6:15 a.m.
(Heritage Room)
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Men's Weekly Bible Study
Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
(Heritage Room)
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We are now studying the Book of Nehemiah, a record of construction and controversy which takes place at the end of the Exile and sets the stage for the arrival of the Messiah. We are following Warren Wiersbe's "Be Determined: Standing Firm in the Face of Opposition", covering roughly one chapter every week through the end of August. If you have any questions, please contact Jon Fredrickson at
jon_fredrickson@yahoo.com
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SHARE
...with Your Service
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Raising Our Outreach Temperature
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Every follower of Jesus has an outreach temperature. This impacts the way we live and interact with those who are far from God. Using a scale of one to ten, one would be a heart that is cooled off where we walk past opportunities to let the light of Jesus shine; a ten would represent a season where Jesus’ light is shining, we speak of our faith often and share stories of what God is doing in our lives, and share the Gospel naturally. With the Holy Spirit to guide us, let’s individually raise our temperature one degree to grow and increase our passion to reach out to others who are spiritually hungry and thirsty. (adapted from Kevin G. Harney’s book on outreach for churches) The Evangelism Committee will share an idea each month in the Mission pages to help us raise our outreach temperature.
This month set a goal to ask someone:
How can I support you in prayer?
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St. John's 3rd Grade Class Invites You to FMSC!
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St. John's 3rd Grade is going to Feed My Starving Children in Aurora on Thursday, September 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. If any church member would like to join us, you can sign-up online at
fmsc.org
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Our group code is 1504058. Questions? Contact Julie Strasser at
j.strasser@sjlagrange.com
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Sunday Morning Mission Cafe
Mission Focus for August:
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St. John's can extend a small kindness to children in Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois' Foster Care program, and the impact will last a lifetime. LCFS partners with the "Kits for Kidz" program, which enables LCFS buy
Back-to-School
items at a deep discount.
You can make it happen! Helps send foster kids Back-to-School with everything they need to succeed. Every $25 we raise will provide one child with a complete set of supplies and a backpack. Thank you in advance for your generous donation.
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Volunteer to Host Coffee Hour!
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Serving Coffee is a great way to have fellowship with St. John's family and bring a smile to everyone's faces by providing them with hot coffee and treats! If you think you may be interested in hosting a Sunday Morning Coffee Hour, click the link below to register for a Sunday that best fits your schedule. Thank you for serving!
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St. John's Kitchen Angels
Providing Homemade Meals for Those in Need
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If would like to receive more information on how to become a "Kitchen Angel", please contact Rebecca Schiltz at
schiltz4@sbcglobal.net
Providing meals for members of our congregation is greatly appreciated by the recipients.
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Volunteer Drivers Needed
Interfaith Community Partners is a non-profit organization that works together with volunteers to provide rides to older adults in the Lyons, Proviso, and Riverside Townships. Over 95 volunteers provide escorted transportation to medical appointments, therapies, and life-enhancing errands such as the grocery store, bank, and church. There is no cost to our clients, we ask for them to donate, if able. We rely solely on private donations, grants, special events, and church support for funding. Contact us at (708) 354-9328 for an information packet, visit us on the web at
interfaithcommunitypartners.org
and like us on Facebook. Can you spare an hour a week? We will work around your busy life!
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Additional Volunteers Needed for the
"Media Presentations Team"
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The Board of Information Systems is looking for additional volunteers to assist in the creation of Media Presentations used for the screens in the Sanctuary, Narthex, and School Hallways. By publicizing the highlights of upcoming events visibly on the screens, we can better inform everyone, including visitors about the great opportunities at St. John’s Lutheran Church and School. General computer knowledge is a plus and one of the programs that can be used is Microsoft Power Point, or any other program that you prefer that creates picture images (jpeg, gif, png, tiff, bmp, etc…). Please contact David Lincoln at
d.lincoln@sjlagrange.com
for information on how to join the “Media Presentations Team”.
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3rd Grade Eagles in Action Project:
La Grange Area Food Pantry
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3rd Grade is collecting chapel offerings for the month of September for La Grange Area Food Pantry. Throughout the school year, we will purchase items from our chapel offerings collected in September to donate to the food pantry. There are collection bins located in the church narthex if you would like to donate.
- Are you able to deliver the items that are collected each week maybe once a month, twice a month, or for a whole month? Contact j.strasser@sjlagrange.com Thank you for considering this service opportunity. Donation drop-off times are Mondays at 8 a.m, Wednesdays at 6 p.m. or Fridays from 8 to 10 a.m.
- The Pantry in need of regular sized canned goods that a family can use (not restaurant-sized containers) especially canned corn and canned beans, and non-food items which are not covered by food stamps.
- Each month we have a featured item to shop for in addition to the regular items that can be donated.
We look forward to serving God through our Food Pantry donations, and helping people in need in our community. Thank you for helping us share Christ's love.
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The La Grange Area Food Pantry item for the Month of September is: SHAMPOO
Please drop off donations in the Church Narthex in the marked box for Food Pantry items. Thank you.
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Click on the "TRIP" logo to learn more.
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St. John's Memorials Committee Financial Report
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At the April Congregational Assembly, a report was given for the Memorials and Gifts Committee, which explained that an accounting of the Memorials Fund and the Gifts Fund was being conducted and was nearing completion.
This analysis identified considerable amounts that had not been tracked and designated over the past 12 years. This process had now been completed and the Coordinating Council has approved uses for these funds.
The attached
Memorials Report for FY 17-18
identifies the memorial gifts given this past year, as well as the transfer of funds resulting from the review, and the funds remaining in the Fund, $10,843. This process will allow the Memorials and Gift Committee to manage the funds on a current basis. If you have questions, please contact Harlan Hirt, Congregational Secretary at
hdh_39@sbcglobal.net
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Sunday Worship Schedule
Worship Service 8:00 a.m.
Fellowship 9:00 a.m.
Education 9:25 - 10:25 a.m.
Worship Service 10:45 a.m.
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Church Office
Office: (708) 354-1690 x210
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Worship Attendance
Sunday, August 19 = 331
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