St. John s Epistle. June 2018

Transcription

1 St. John s Epistle June 2018 A Newsletter of St. John s Lutheran Church LCMS 515 College Ave. W. Ladysmith, WI stjohnladysmith@centurylink.net

2 2 You Are truly Blessed Jesus said, And to the Angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God s creation. I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:14-16) It is very easy for us to become complacent during the summer months in worship and our walk with Christ. After all, there is so much for us to do. There are cabins, fishing, vacations, family reunions, and many other wonderful activities. Those things are really neat and we should enjoy them, for they are gifts from God. However, when we begin to rationalize that we deserve a break from God s Word, His sacraments, and worship, our break turns into something that distances us from God. In our text, Jesus was speaking to the Laodicean church. He was not just speaking to the church, He was rebuking them. The Laodicean s material abundance made it easy for them to imagine that they had little need for spiritual things. They were very comfortable. They were growing self-satisfied and indifferent to their faith. Though the church at Laodicea may have looked good enough outwardly, it had grown self-satisfied and thus indifferent to growing in faith and spreading the Word. Becoming complacent and self-satisfied about our Christian walk can be as destructive as outright hostility and persecution. True spiritual riches come from an active faith; a faith that, through the help of the Holy Spirit, is constantly strengthened by the Word, the Lord s Supper, and the daily remembrance and life in the gift of baptism.

3 Despite our common failing, Christ still comes to us in His Word and sacrament, granting repentance and forgiveness. Week after week, throughout the whole summer, and every month, our Lord, with the help of the Holy Spirit, will be at His church. He will be there giving forgiveness, life, and salvation. He will be there strengthening faith and giving only the peace that He can provide. He will be at His church, just waiting to be received by His people. No matter what time of the year it is, it is important that all of us continue to hear His Word and receive His sacraments. The reason we need to receive what our Lord has given us is so our faith can continue to be strengthened. Our faith must be strengthened so that we can stay in the faith and do the work that our Lord wants us to do. I pray that you have a great summer. I pray that you are able to spend many great moments with your family, but don t forget about our precious Lord Jesus Christ. You my friends, are so blessed to be a child of God. Words cannot describe how blessed you are to have Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Amen. In His Service, 3 Pastor Craig S. Zandi

4 4 ASSISTING FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE Acolytes: Ushers Altar Guild: Kathy Boehmer Finance: Tom Rosolowski & Glen Hoople Fellowship: Altar Guild Worship Assistants for June Sunday Services at 9AM Sunday, June 3 Sunday, June 10 Caring & Sharing Elder: Alden Hook Greeters: Sam & Shelley Barg Ushers: Team 3: Dennis Flater, Captain, Bob Hauser, Alden Hook, Bill Myers Elder: Darrell Kuchta Greeters: Kim Grabowski & Dana Woebbeking Ushers: Team 4: Sam Barg, Dave Werner, John Monnier, Chuck Perenchio, Gene Zillmer Sunday, June 17 LWML Mites Ingathering Elder: Ray Tousey Greeters: Jan & Neal MacLachlan Ushers: Team 5: Jim Kuchta, Captain, Gary Drohman, Don Josi, Dave Thompson, Russ Thompson Sunday, June 24 Charity of the Month Elder: Randy Scott Greeters: Dennis & Deb Flater Ushers: Team 1: Dave Scott, Captain, Dave Kuchta, Tom Rosolowski, Vic Plockelman, Stu Pask

5 5 How We Got The Bible Please join in the study of How We Got the Bible. This study will be five lessons included a DVD and discussion. Sixty-six books, more than 1,100 chapters, an astounding 30,000 verses, a mind-boggling 700,000 words it s no wonder it s the world s most fascinating book. See how it was all put together in How We Got The Bible, featuring Dr. Paul L. Maier. Joining Dr. Maier are Joel Lampe, manager of The Bible Museum, an extraordinary repository of printed texts, ancient manuscripts, and rare Bibles housed in Goodyear, Arizona. Additional commentary and insight are provided by Bruce Wurdeman, executive director of Lutheran Hour Ministries and Dr. Jeff Kloha, associate professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Lesson 1: The World s Most Important Book Lesson 2: Can We Be Confident in the Bible? Lesson 3: Silencing the Old Testament Critics. Lesson 4: Did the Church make Jesus Divine? Lesson 5: The High Price of an English Bible. Please check the weekly bulletin for date and time! Mark 3:4 ESV

6 6 Campfire Devotion and Sing-a-long Wednesday nights during the summer 7:00PM June 27 th..july 25 th..august 29 th Enjoy a cozy campfire, a devotion, singing, and of course hotdogs and s mores. Everyone is welcome - bring your lawn chair and bring your friends!! Join your friends at St. John s for a relaxing evening filled with fun and Christian fellowship around our campfire.

7 The Holy Supper: A Taste of Heaven By Rev. Dr. William Weinrich SOMETIMES WE REGARD THE MOST COM- MONPLACE OF things as the most insignificant. Perhaps this explains to some extent the increasing practice of Americans to "eat on the run." The line of cars at local "drive-throughs" is often longer than the lines within the restaurants. Food and drink can be regarded as necessary "energy boosters," needed to satisfy the pangs of hunger and thirst, but hardly defining of who we are and what we are. We eat and drink when we can; convenience dictates the time of meal and repaste. Although we eat and drink every day, the time of eating and drinking is hardly regarded as defining moments of our busy lives. How different it is with the Holy Supper! For by partaking in the Lord's Supper the people of God do not do something extraneous to whom they are. The eating and drinking of the Lord's Table is not some sort of "add on" to the reality of being a Christian. This eating and drinking is, strictly speaking, not something Christians "do" at all. It is the means by which Christians are Christians and remain Christians. Such statements may at first seem extreme. But, let us see. Traditionally, Lutherans have concluded the communion liturgy with the hymn, "Nunc Dimittis": "Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace according to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a Light to lighten the Gentiles and the Glory of Your people, Israel." What remarkable words! We declare in these words that our eyes have actually seen God's salvation, which is the Glory of Israel and the Light of the world. But what do our eyes see? This liturgical hymn assists us to recognize that the Bread and the Wine, which we have just eaten and drunk, that which we have just seen and that which we have just tasted, are in fact that about which we have just heard. The pastor, standing at the altar, repeats the words of Jesus: "Take eat, this is My Body, which is given for you; take drink, this 7

8 8 cup is the NewTestament in my blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins." We are given to see and to taste what we have been given to hear. And so in the Lord's Supper we experience by participation-and through those senses which are the means through which we partake of all experience-that salvation which God has prepared for us. The very sensory character of the Lord's Supper indicates what we always assert by way of doctrinal statement. The Bread and the Wine are the very Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus, which He has commanded us to eat and to drink. The Lord's Supper is something concrete, particular, real; it is Body and Blood. It is not something merely other- worldly, spiritual, nonmaterial; it is not merely "soul food." It is therefore received in a concrete, particular and real manner-by eating and drinking. Because it is the Body and Blood of Jesus, it is eaten and drunk even by those who do not believe what their ears have heard, namely, "This is My Body; this is My Blood." Even unbelievers eat and drink the very Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus whenever they partake of the Bread and the Wine. The eating and drinking by faith, therefore, is not separate from the actually eating and drinking of the Bread and the Wine. Those who believe these words, "This is My Body; this is My Blood," rather faithfully eat and faithfully drink and receive in faith that which the Father gives through the giving up of His Son into death. This is to say that the forgiveness of sins, and the Life of the Spirit which comes with that forgiveness, is bound to a particular Body and to a particular Blood. On the very night in which Jesus was betrayed, He "instituted" the Supper, which was His own. By means of this "institution" Jesus gave to His Church for all times and all places that Supper, which would be the place and the time of His death for the forgiveness of sins. We may put it like this: the death of Christ which occurred once is "for us" in the Lord's Supper. As hard as it may be to imagine, the time and the place of the cross of Christ may not be separated from the time and the place of the Lord's Supper. "This is My Body given for you"-namely, the Bread which you are about to eat. "This is My Blood shed for the forgiveness of sins"-

9 namely, the Wine which you are about to drink. Participation in the Lord's Supper places us at Calvary. Or more accurately, in the Lord's Supper, God brings Calvary to us. That is why in the liturgy, before the words of institution are spoken, we sing the "Sanctus": "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth... Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord." In these words the never-ending hymn of heaven (Isaiah 6; Revelation 4) is combined with the hymn of the people of Jerusalem, which they sang when Jesus entered Jerusalem to die (Matt. 21:9). Through this liturgical hymn we are reminded that in the person of Jesus heaven and earth are united, and most especially in the death of the Incarnate Son when sins are forgiven making man at peace with God. In the Jerusalem to which Jesus came to die, there is heaven and the Kingdom of God. Not surprisingly, the final visions of John are of the New Jerusalem, which comes down from heaven and in which the Lamb is on the throne (Rev. 21:10). What John sees is in fact the coming of the New Jerusalem in the coming of the Lord Jesus, namely, in His coming in the Bread and the Wine. "Come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:17). This point is made explicit in the first century text, The Didache, where the hymn of Jerusalem ("Hosanna to the God of David") is conjoined with the "Come, Lord Jesus" of the New Jerusalem (Didache 10:6). Since the Body and the Blood, given and shed for us, are the place of heaven and of the New Jerusalem, we see why the song of Simeon (Luke 2:29-32, "Nunc Dimittis") so early became a hymn within the Eucharistic liturgy. For the Child, which Simeon saw, the Child, which was brought to Simeon so that He might be dedicated to God as "holy," according to the requirements of the Law (Luke 2:22-24)-that Child became the Crucified in whose death the Law was fulfilled. In His death Christ was both Priest and Sacrifice, offering Himself up to God as an acceptable sacrifice. Through His steadfast faithfulness even to death, Jesus gave to His Father that right worship, which exists in faith alone. Likewise, in His death for us, Christ fulfilled the law of love, giving all that He is and possesses for our eternal good. And so, in the death of 9

10 10 Jesus we recognize those two aspects which define the life of the Christian, namely, the worship of faith and the sacrifice of love. This sacrifice, which Christ made to God and for us, becomes our own sacrifice when we eat the Bread, which is His Body given for us, and when we drink the Wine, which is His Blood shed for the forgiveness of sins. Bound to Him who is Priest and Sacrifice, we become a priestly people who render ourselves as sacrifices to God through faith and through a life of love toward our neighbor. This should be understood, once more, in a totally concrete, particular and real manner. When we eat His Body and drink His Blood we become members of His Body and of His Blood, that is, we become members of that Body and Blood given and shed for the sake of sinners. We, in soul and body, become the Body of Christ and so are sent forth on the way of peace to serve our neighbor through the forgiveness of sins and the vocation of charity. It is this of which Paul speaks: "By the mercies of God, present your bodies to God, which is your spiritual worship" (Rom. 12:1). Moreover, since Christ fulfilled all Old Testament sacrificial worship in His death, He began the worship "in Spirit and in Truth" of which the Gospel of John speaks (John 4:24). To partake of His death in the faithful eating of His Body and the faithful drinking of His Blood is to worship rightly in Spirit and in Truth. No higher worship exists than this, to commune at the Lord's Table in faith. For that reason, communion in the Lord's Body and Blood is surrounded by liturgy and hymn through which we thank and praise the Lord for the gifts which are proffered to us for the salvation of our souls and our bodies. This is given expression in the short hymn What shall I render to the Lord, which occurs in the communion liturgy of Lutheran Worship: "What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits to me? I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call on the name of the Lord. I will take the cup of salvation and will call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people, in the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of you, 0 Jerusalem" (p. 169). Rev. Dr. William Weinrich is Professor of Historical Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN.

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12 June 2018 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT :00AM Worship 10:00AM Fellowship 10:30-11:30AM Bible Study 11:30AM Board of Elders 4 5 9:00AM Quilters :00AM Thrift Store Rice Lake Caring & Sharing 8:15AM Board of Finance 9:00AM Worship+ HC Usher Meeting 10:00AM Fellowship 10:30-11:30AM Bible Study 11 6:00PM Usher Meeting If needed 12 9:00AM Quilters 6:15PM Evangelism- Stewardship meeting 13 11:30AM Ladies Annual J&S Supper Club 14 Flag Day 7:00AM Men s Breakfast & Study :00-12:00 Crafty Stitchers 17 LWML Mites Ingathering 8:45AM Hymn Sing 9:00AM Worship 10:00AM Fellowship 10:30-11:30AM Bible Study 18 4:30PM Ladies Bible Study 19 9:00AM Quilters NEWS LETTER ITEMS DUE TODAY! 20 1:00PM Rachel Circle 21 10:00AM Thrift Store Rice Lake Stewardship Charity of the Month-Concordia Mequon 9:00AM Worship + HC 10:00AM Fellowship 10:30-11:30AM Bible Study :00AM Quilters 27 6:00PM Campfire Devotions 28 7:00AM Men s Breakfast & Study Manna Hope 29 30

13 14 Bonietta Bruner Honored at the Ladysmith Care Community Volunteer Luncheon April 20, 2018 Written by Kara Douglass, Activity Director Bonietta started volunteering at the Ladysmith Nursing Home even before the auxiliary was formed. To date, she has given 3,400 hours of volunteer service. She has been an extremely dedicated volunteer for nearly 30 years. She has worn many hats. She has been on the auxiliary board for over 15 years. Bonietta is currently the president of the auxiliary and has also served as the vice president. She is a weekly hair care volunteer, setting hair since the hair care program began. She also leads a monthly hymn sing along.

14 15 Preschool News It's hard to believe our school year is over already! We had a great year filled with lots of fun, cooking, and learning. Thank you to each of our Bible Buddies! We hope to start the program up again right at the beginning of the new school year! If you didn't sign up before, now is a great time to get your name on the list.

15 16 Prayers Prayer #1 Heavenly Father, We know while Jesus was here on earth He showed compassion every day to the poor and needy. In Isaiah the prophet tells us, They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water (Isaiah 49:10). Help us to show compassion in our daily lives to all those around us. By supporting this grant we will enable LWR to send quilts & kits made by Lutheran women to the poor and needy of the world and to share the love of Christ Jesus. Amen. Prayer #2 Oh, God, our Father, hear our prayer. We know our Lord Jesus Christ humbled Himself to be born into poverty and die in poverty. The Holy Spirit instills in us a desire to care for the hungry, the poor, those without hope. Help us to have compassion and concern for the less fortunate of the world. Lutheran World Relief sends quilts and kits all over the world to these same people. May we be generous in our support of the shipping fund for Lutheran World Relief. Amen. Prayer #3 Oh, Holy Lord, hear us as we pray. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who com- forts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). You have taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves. We pray that through the work of Lutheran World Relief that the many quilts and kits made by Lutheran hands will be shipped to those in need around the world. We pray that these quilts will bring comfort to the troubled and hurting people. Hear our prayer, in Jesus name. Amen Prayer #4 Dearest God, our heavenly Father, we lift up to you our prayers for Lutheran World Relief and the funds needed to ship quilts and kits to the needy around the world. We have been blessed. We know of Jesus salvation and of His love. We want for very little. Help us to show kindness and compassion for others. Therefore, as God s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12). Through our support of this grant we pray that the lives of many will be wrapped in His love and come to know Jesus. Amen.

16 17 Story For as long as the LWML has existed, Lutheran women have been making quilts to send to those in need. Some have been works of art and some more serviceable but all made with love. These same women have been putting together kits of health items or school supplies, baby needs or even just fabric. And since 1945 Lutheran World Relief (LWR) has been supplying these quilts & kits to those who need them most. Getting these items to the farthest reaches of the world can be complex and challenging. Great care must be taken to ensure the program runs efficiently and that these materials reach these vulnerable people in remote areas. LWR has established a network of transportation, warehousing and distribution enabling the recipients to live better lives and to know the love of Jesus. LWR ships between $12 and $13 million worth of quilts, blankets, baby care kits, personal care kits, school and fabric kits and soap to 20 countries on average each year. Each year it costs approximately $1.5 million to run this program. The Quilt & Shipping Fund raises about $675,000 each year but this is not enough. This LWML grant of $80,000 will help sustain the fund and support these costs. Many of our women who make these quilts have no idea how treasured they are by those who receive them. They are cherished as a personal gift of love by the hands that made it and by God who brought it to them. In fiscal year 2015, LWR sent 332,592 quilts along with 375,500 kits to countries from Angola to Yemen; from Burkina Faso to Ukraine and from Ghana to Thailand. The Quilt & Kit ministry is LWR oldest ministry serving as an expression of Christ s love in the world but it also promotes global education in the US about the need for humanitarian assistance and the opportunity for ministry at the same time. We pray that through this grant supplying funds for shipping that the quilts made with great care and love will be an expression of the compassion and the love of Jesus.

17 18 June 18, 2018 at 4:30 pm Struggling with the Influence of Technology page 18 in the Spring 2018 Lutheran Women's Quarterly If you need a copy see Paula. There will be a short business meeting after the Bible Study. The 37th Biennial North Wisconsin District LWML Convention will be held June 24-26, 2018 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Theme: "Remember All the Blessings" Psalm 103:2. Four mission groups have been chosen to be recipients of the convention in-gathering. They are: MOST Ministries; Peace Lutheran Campus Ministry, UW-Stevens Point; Shirley s House of Hope, Marshfield; Orphan Grain Train. If you read the Annual Report you will know how many eyeglasses and eyeglass cases were sent to MOST Ministries in We did not send that many by ourselves, it took volunteers from the entire congregation. We are asking the congregation's help again in We would like to take to the convention gifts for MOST Ministries and at least one other of the recipients list above. More information will be provided as decisions are made and we hear more from the District.

18 Crafty Stitchers 19 Our group was pleasantly surprised with a decorated cake from Susie Pflughoeft as a thank you. Some of us made pocket prayer shawls for her to be given away at a LWML convention. Eighty three were sent to her. Of course, they were purple! Also, thank you to Nancy R. for arranging this. Our group decided to continue to meet during the summer months. We meet the third Saturday morning of the month from 10:00 a.m. noon. All are welcome! Manna Meal St. John's is hosting the June manna meal at Hope Lutheran Church on June 28th. A signup sheet will be in the fellowship hall soon.

19 20 STEWARDSHIP A godly attitude in using our time, talents, and treasures for Christ and His Kingdom. June Charity of the Month On June 24th, our charity will be Concordia Mequon. Please use the designated envelope from your packs and mark on them the charity for that month. Only monies that are specifically designated will go to that charity. If you have any questions about the Charity of the Month, please speak with a member of the Stewardship Board. Members are: Dana Woebbeking Marie Perenchio Debbie Flatter ITEMS FOR BULLETINS are due on Tuesday by close of day each week (unless indicated otherwise in bulletins due to holidays). Newsletter items are due in the office no later than close of day on the Tuesday preceding the last Sunday of the month. E mail to: stjohnladysmith@centurylink.net (preferred method). Don t forget that LARGE PRINT bulletins and newsletters are available for those who need them. Contact the office to get your name on the list!

20 21 The Next Caring and Sharing Sunday is June 10th This is your opportunity to show you care for the hungry in our community by making a donation to the Hope Food Pantry or show your concern for the hungry children in our community by making a donation to the Back Pack Program. Dish Cloths If you are interested in purchasing Dish Cloths, please contact Bonietta Bruner at All proceeds go to the St. John's Ladies Aid. They are on hand! Rada Knives If you are interested in purchasing Rada Knives, please contact Lorraine Flohr at All proceeds go to the St. John's Ladies Aid. Orders are processed quickly! They make great wedding gifts.

21 22 All Ladies! Our 'End of the year picnic' will be at J&S Supper Club on Wednesday, June 13th at 11:30AM. Upcoming details soon in the fellowship hall. Men s Breakfast and Study Backdoor Café Thursdays, June 14th & 28th At 7:00 AM Please, when leaving your aluminum cans, that is all we can recycle! We cannot take aluminum foil, plates, etc.; aluminum cans only! Thanks for your assistance. ONGOING COLLECTIONS Aluminum cans for Preschool Canceled Stamps (LWML) Paper for recycling Greeting cards Milk Moola TM caps and bag tops Used eye glasses RECYCLING PAPER We have an ongoing paper recycling project for the congregation with help from the Deborah Circle. Items to be recycled: Stationery, envelopes, mail, notebook paper - no newspaper material! Bundle or bag magazines. Paperback books are also recyclable. Keep magazines separate from the other paper items. Thank you for helping!

22 23 1 Doris Woebbeking 4 Kim Grabowski 5 Scott Thummel 6 Linda Beach, Clarence Stine 8 Gary Hahn 10 Tom Glessing 11 Kenzie Antczak, Jim Lee, Kelley Stout 13 Tom Applebee 15 Shari Nelson 16 Amy Heuer 17 MaKayla Morgan 18 Jack Boehmer, Linda Grinnell 19 Ann Boehmer, Connie Thompson 20 Kathy Kuchta 22 Judy Nelson 23 June Garstka 26 Amy Tousey 27 Janice Zandi 30 Earl Witt, Jr. 5 Astrid & Max Tucker Larry & Wendy Zehner 9 Neal & Jan MacLachlan Jennifer & Mike Zimmer 13 Randy & Marj Scott 17 Dave & Jamie Werner 19 Mark & Kim Grabowski 20 Alden & Paula Hook 21 Donna & Bill Howard 28 Stu & Clara Pask

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