CONNECT ... in Worship
Sunday Worship Services
8:00 & 10:45 a.m.
Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday, November 18, 2018
"Prophet, Priest, King: Jesus, the...Priest"
(Week 2 of 3)
Pastor Ben Roberts

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 29:38-46
Epistle: Hebrews 7:23-28
Holy Gospel: John 17:1-10, 20-23
The work that Jesus did while He was on earth is often summarized as an “office” He held: the 3-fold office of “prophet”, “priest” and “king”. In this office, He speaks God’s all powerful Word, He intercedes for those needing salvation from sin and He rules over all things, including His Church. But Jesus continues to embody His 3-fold office through His body, the Church. In this sermon series, we will be taking a look at what the ministry of Jesus looks like as our Prophet, Priest and King; how He embodies this office for our sake; and how He uses His Church to continue His ministry wherever He sends them.

11/25: “Jesus…the King” (John 18:33-37)
Thursday, November 22, 2018
10:00 a.m.
(Holy Communion)

The Church Office will be closed on Thursday, November 22 and Friday, November 23 in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday.
GROW ...in the Word
Sunday Morning Adult Bible Study
"The Challenge of Islam (Part Two): Defending the Christian Faith
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Heritage Room
Leader: Pastor Ben Roberts
In Part Two of this Bible study, Sam Shamoun, an Arab-Christian, examines key texts from the Qur'an and the Bible. Among the items he sheds light on are Islamic presuppositions concerning the priority of the Qur'an, Bible texts considered corrupt by Muslims, the sonship of believers, and Islam's position on the Trinity.

Shamoun's compelling explanation of the three phases of jihad or Muslim "holy war" is of particular benefit to users of this Bible study. This term-oft heard and oft misunderstood over the last few years-is essential for the non-Muslim to understand. As delivered in the Qur'an, jihad is a three-stage process describing how Islam is to be advanced throughout the world. Whether expressed as peaceful co-existence, a defensive stance, or an offensive posture, the level of jihad depends on the prevailing social and political milieu Muslims find themselves in. The study's final lesson shows how society might be altered if non-Muslims' conduct and beliefs were subjugated to the tenets and practice of Islam. Finally, Christians are offered encouragement and talking points when encountering Muslims on faith issues and sharing the hope they have in Christ Jesus.
Calling All Sunday Schoolers!
Sunday, November 18 at 9:30 a.m.
Music/Choir Room
Join us upstairs in the Music/Choir Room for a Bible Story, games and crafts. Parents and caregivers are welcome to join. We look forward to seeing you!
Sunday Morning Parenting Bible Study
"The Art of Parenting: Aiming Your Child's Heart Toward God"
Sunday, November 18 at 9:25 a.m.
Noah's Ark Nursery
Did you know that your child/ren are like "arrows in the hands of a warrior?" Join us this Sunday as we begin FamilyLife's "The Art of Parenting: Aiming Your Child's Hear Toward God". Parents and grandparents are welcome! Questions? Contact Rebecca Hemminger at 630-660-3602.
High School Youth Bible Study
Sunday, November 18 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Youth Room
Leader: Pastor Mark Stapleton

This study is primarily for High School students. Study will be held in the Youth Room, located downstairs next to the School Cafeteria. Join us as we continue our study on the Book of Ephesians.
Session 9: Stuck
Monday, November 19 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.
Heritage Room
Discover how to prevent getting stuck in grief, common misconceptions that hinder healing and why your path to healing isn't always smooth.

Questions? Contact Marnie Smith at  marnie_rev@comcast.net  or call (630) 440-6542.
Weekly Bible Studies
Tuesday Morning Women's Bible Class
Tuesdays at 10:15 a.m.
Heritage Room

We are currently reading, "One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World" . If you would like more information regarding the Tuesday Morning Women's Bible Class, please contact Lynn Kahl at (312) 890-0020 or at lynnkahl50@gmail.com
Early Risers Bible Study
Thursdays at 6:15 a.m.
Heritage Room
Men's Weekly Bible Study
Thursdays at 7:00 p.m.
Heritage Room
We are now studying the Gospel of Luke, following Warren Wiersbe's "Be Compassionate: Let the World Know That Jesus Cares" . This is the first of two books covering Luke's Gospel, through chapter 13, which we will read sequentially. If you have any questions, please contact Jon Fredrickson at jon_fredrickson@yahoo.com .
SHARE ...with Your Service
Thank you to everyone who packed a Shoebox for Operation Christmas Child! 84 Shoeboxes were dropped off at the drop off location this week. Your Shoeboxes will be a welcome surprise to children all over the world. 
Raising Your Outreach Temperature
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.
For the month of November, the Evangelism Committee invites you to pray daily that you can naturally share the joy and hope that are found in Jesus.
Volunteers Needed!

  • Christmas Tree Set-Up and Decorating
  • Christmas Concert Volunteers Needed!
Our Christmas Concert is five weeks away on December 9, and we are in need of many volunteers to help make that evening special. We need people for setting-up and decorating Christmas trees, setting-up risers and chairs, baking cookies and bars for the reception, setting-up and serving the reception as well as clean-up, Ushers, Greeters, and directing traffic. Please consider helping out in any way you can. Look for the sheets on the sign-up board along the west wall of the Church Narthex or if you prefer you can click this link and use Sign-Up Genius ( http://bit.ly/StJohnsDec2018 )

You can also send an email to Mr. Lincoln at d.lincoln@sjlagrange.com , or call him at (708) 354-1690 x222. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Times of Volunteer Help Needed:

  • Christmas Tree Set-up—Thurs, Nov. 29 at 7:00 p.m.
  • Christmas Tree Decorating—Fri, Nov. 30 at 7:00 p.m.
  • Riser Set-up—Sun, Dec. 2 from 12 to 1:00 p.m. (lunch served at 1:00 p.m.)
  • Reception Set-up—Sat, Dec. 8 at 10:00 a.m.
  • Concert Set-up—Sun, Dec. 9 at 12:00 p.m.
  • Kitchen Preparations / Reception Serve / Clean Up—Sun, Dec. 9
  • Assist Directing Traffic —Sun, Dec. 9 (start at 5:30 p.m.)
  • Serve as Greeter for the Concert —Sun, Dec. 9 (start at 5:45 p.m.)
  • Riser Take-down—Mon, Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m.
Mission Cafe Coffee Hour
November’s Mission Café donations will benefit the People’s Resource Center . St. John’s First Graders will be hosting a “Christmas Toy Drive” as their Eagles In Action” project. In addition to their toy drive, we will collect monetary donations. 

Since 1975,   People's Resource Center (PRC) has been bringing neighbors together to respond to hunger and poverty in DuPage County. Nearly 30,000 DuPage residents rely on PRC for help each year. With a team of over 2,500 volunteers, they offer nutritious food and other basic necessities like clothes and rent assistance for people facing tough times. They also connect people with resources—education and tutoring, jobs, technology, art, a caring community—to create a future of hope and opportunity for all.

Interested in Hosting a Sunday Morning Coffee Hour? Sign-up below!
SCHOOL NEWS
New Lending Library
Have you seen the new Lending Library outside Door A? The Faculty of St. John’s thought it would be great to share books with you that we have found helpful on a variety of topics.

Feel free to take what you’d like, and drop off what you want to share. We would like to offer books to adults at this time, but will switch up the age group throughout the year.

A HUGE thank you to Phil and Liz Willig and Patrick Mannes for their construction of the house and the pillar. Thank you also to Lucy Christoffer for clearing out the space for the library. May God bless your reading!
TRIP Program
Click the TRIP logo to learn more!
Whether you are starting your Thanksgiving Day shopping, or stocking up for the winter season, don’t forget to order your TRIP cards! If you just plan on dining out or treating yourself, take time to evaluate your shopping needs and order your TRIP cards! If you are hosting or attending any fall gatherings, start your shopping with TRIP cards. 

We will be placing TRIP orders for your shopping needs on these upcoming dates: November 26
CHURCH OFFICE
Giving In Faith Together
We would like to bring St. John's Congregation up to date on an important financial matter facing our Church and School... Read more
Weekly Report from Board of Finance
Weekly Statistics on Congregational Giving to St. John's Lutheran Church & School

The chart showing Weekly Cumulative Giving for Operations has been modified to show our cumulative year-to-date deficiency to need as a negative number beneath cumulative weekly giving.
Anyone wishing further information on Congregational giving or the Church’s overall financial situation is invited to contact either Bob Roth, Chair, Board of Finance, or Jeff Baker, Congregational Treasurer, through the Church office, churchoffice@sjlagrange.com or (708) 354-1690 x210
Weekly Worship Attendance
Sunday, November 11, 2018 = 220
Congregational Voter's Meeting
Sunday, December 2 at 9:15 a.m.
Heritage Room
We encourage all confirmed members of St. John's to attend our Annual Voter's Meeting. Names of those listed on the ballot can be found on the Connection Center in the church narthex, or click the button below.
UPCOMING ST. JOHN'S EVENTS
Third Annual Women's Advent Tea
"The Story of the Christmas Tree"
Saturday, December 1
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
School Gym
Join us for a morning of fellowship, devotion and breakfast a the Third Annual Women's Advent Tea on Saturday, December 1, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The cost is $10 per person. You may sign-up in the church narthex.

If you would like to HOST a table, please contact Rebecca Schiltz at schiltz4@sbcglobal.net or Katie Pece at k.pece@sjlagrange.com
Christmas Cookie Drop-Off
Saturday, December 15 at 1:00 p.m.
The Board of Caring Ministries invites you to join us for a "Cookie Drop-Off" on Saturday, December 15 at 1:00 p.m. Please help us take Christmas Cheer to those who cannot join us for Church on Sundays. More information to follow!
Parents Night Out & Birthday Party for Angel
Friday, December 14
More details coming soon!

Christmas Caroling at Meadowbrook Manor
Sunday, December 16
More details coming soon!
Christmas Concert: "Of the Father's Love Begotten"
Sunday, December 9, 2018 at 6:30 p.m.
St. John’s will again host our Annual Christmas Concert: “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” on Sunday, December 9, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. This evening of music will feature St. John’s adult and youth choirs, handbells, and orchestra. The program will include a variety of scared music and familiar carols. Help us spread the word to the community. Informational posters are available at the Connection Center.

The concert is free and open to the public. A free-will offering will be taken. You can also make a personal contribution to our Music Fund to support the music program at St. John’s. Donations to our Music Fund help support musicians for Festive Worship Services like Reformation Sunday; Thanksgiving Day; Christmas Eve; and our upcoming Christmas Concert. We thank you in advance for your generous support!

Scholarships available for the
LUTHERAN SUMMER MUSIC ACADEMY AND FESTIVAL
Don’t miss out on Lutheran Summer Music (LSM). LSM is a residential performance and training program for young musicians grades 8 – 12. LSM is hosted on different Lutheran college and university campuses each Summer. Join over 25 nationally recognized faculty artists and a team of dedicated counselors in our supportive, academic community. This year the academy is being held at Valparaiso University from June 23 – July 7, 2019 (Half Session); and June 23 – July 21, 2019 (Full Session).

IMPORTANT UPDATE:  Thanks to many generous donations, the tuition has been reduced by $1,000 from the past several years. You also can apply for Matching Grants that can reduce your out-of-pocket costs substantially. 

APPLICATION:  Please complete the application that is available on our church web site. The deadline to complete the scholarship application is January 1, 2019.

Please contact David Lincoln at d.lincoln@sjlagrange.com if you have any questions on the scholarship application process. Any student from St. John’s Church can apply for a partial scholarship. This is made possible by the Eugene Pepich Lutheran Music Summer Camp Scholarship Program.
Sunday Worship Schedule
Worship Service 8:00 a.m.
Education 9:25 - 10:25 a.m.
Worship Service 10:45 a.m.
Church Office
Office: (708) 354-1690 x210