Sunday, March 18, 2012

This Week @ St. John

  • Mon Mar.19- 7:00pm Jews for Jesus; Christ in the Passover
  • Tues Mar.20- Spring Begins
  • Wed Mar.21- 9:00am Ladies Lenten Retreat
  • 3:30pm Confirmation
    • 7:00pm Lenten Service -LYF refreshments afterward
  • Thur Mar. 22- 6:00pm Cub Scouts
  • Fri Mar.23- LYF Lock-in, Ida Grove
  • Sat Mar.24- 8:00am Men's Ministry Breakfast, Ankeny
  • Sun Mar. 25- 
    • 8:45am Sunday School & Bible Study
    • 10:00am Worship Service

Iowa, Ankeny: Men's Ministry Breakfast: "Leaving a Legacy"
March 24, 2012 - March 24, 2012
Host Church: St. Paul Lutheran Church
Morning breakfast and Bible study; presentations by guest speaker, Heather Moen and Iowa District West Gift Planning Conselor, Jim Schroeder; small group discussion; small group materials will be distributed to share with your congregation.
Contact:

Ground Breaking Announced

Mark your calendars; the ground breaking ceremony for the new Fellowship Hall will be on Palm Sunday, April 1st, immediately after (as part of) worship service.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

This Week @ St.John

  • Tues Mar. 13- 8:45am Pastor's Conference, Kiron
  • Wed Mar.14- 9:00am Ladies Lenten Retreat
  • 3:30pm Confirmation
    • 7:00pm Lenten Service -LYF refreshments afterward
  • Thur Mar. 15- 9:00am LWML Prayer Service, Immanuel (Ricketts Triple-Parish), Charter Oak Township
  • Sat Mar. 17- St. Patrick's Day
  • Sun Mar. 18- 
    • 8:45am Sunday School & Bible Study
    • 10:00am Worship Service with Communion
    • Noon -meet at church to go to Family Fun Day at King's Point Water Park in Storm Lake
      The cost is just $5 per person. Please sign up on the Memorial Stand in front of the new Church office.
Iowa, Ankeny: Men's Ministry Breakfast: "Leaving a Legacy"
March 24, 2012 - March 24, 2012
Host Church: St. Paul Lutheran Church
Morning breakfast and Bible study; presentations by guest speaker, Heather Moen and Iowa District West Gift Planning Conselor, Jim Schroeder; small group discussion; small group materials will be distributed to share with your congregation.
Contact:

Sunday, March 04, 2012

This Week @ St.John

  • Tues Mar. 6- 6:30am Men's Bible Study
  • Wed Mar. 7- 9:00am Ladies Lenten Retreat
  • 3:30pm Confirmation
    • 7:00pm Lenten Service -LYF refreshments afterward
  • Thur Mar. 8- 6:00pm Cub Scouts
  • Sun Mar. 11- Daylight Savings Time Begins (Spring Forward)
    • 8:45am Sunday School & Bible Study
    • 10:00am Worship Service
    • 11:00 Finance Board
    • 1:30pm Lutheran Laymen's League (LLL) Dartball Tournament, Immanuel, Schleswig. Lunch afterward. Everyone is welcome to play or just watch the fun. Proceeds go for Lutheran Hour & Woman to Woman broadcasts on KDSN
    • 3:00pm Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby
    • 5:00pm LYF Meeting at Parsonage

Friday, March 02, 2012

Christ in the Passover March 19, 7:00pm

What do the Jewish Passover and Jesus' last supper have in common? Eli Birnbaum, with Jews for Jesus, will answer that question as he presents "Christ in the Passover" here at St. John on Monday, March 19, at 7:00pm. Using traditional Passover foods, Eli will explain how each part of the Passover celebration points to God's ultimate rescue of His people accomplished through Jesus the Messiah. you will gain wonderful insights on how the pieces of God's salvation fit together, and you will remember this visual display of the Passover pageantry for years to come. Join us for "Christ in the Passover"- from Egypt to Calvary to what it means for us today. For more information contact the Church office.

Please Note- We are looking for a volunteer couple or family in Charter Oak to host Eli for the night of March 19. Here is what he needs-
-Full sized bed in a room that offers some privacy (a spare bedroom or den rather than a living or family room).
-Housing should be located within close driving distance to the church.
-The host family does not need to entertain the missionary, but it is appreciated if food can be made available at the host home. But the host family does not need to go out of their way to prepare an elaborate meal.
-If you would be willing to host our missionary presenter for one night, please contact Pastor Merrill or the church office.

Under (Re)Construction

Dear Friends in Christ,

As I write this article my study door is closed. Walls are being knocked down. Hammers are pounding, drills are whirring, and the lobby outside (what's left of it) is a mess. A remodeling project creates a lot of inconveniences. I have had to leave my office at times in the last couple of weeks because I couldn't concentrate with all the noise. But I am convinced that when we see the finished project, we will be happy, and the temporary inconvenience will soon be forgotten.

The same can be said of repentance, which is the Christian's focus during Lent (and, as Martin Luther said in the first of his 95 Theses, of our whole lives). Repentance, by definition, is a change of heart. We could call it God's remodeling project. It is turning away from our sins and turning toward Jesus Christ in faith for forgiveness and new life.

Repentance can create a lot of inconvenience. Change is hard. It is hard to let go of our old ways of life and embrace the new people God wants us to be. The soul-searching that often comes with repentance drags up a lot of dust and dirt as the Holy Spirit convicts us through God's Law and knocks down walls of sin that may have stood for a long time. Part of our hearts may get broken, as the mirror outside my office was broken this morning as it came off the wall. There may be friends, places, ideas we have to give up permanently in order for God to conform us to His will.

But when you see the finished project, when you see what God has done with you, I think you will like it. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." (2 Cor. 5:17) God is transforming us into the image of His perfect Son, Jesus. The transformation began on Good Friday on Calvary, where that perfect Son, having been hammered and knocked down and torn by the hands of men, died bearing all your sins in His body on the tree. new construction began on Easter, when the Son of God rose from the dead, and in your Baptism, when you were raised to new life with Him. The transformation continues daily as you return to your baptism, in repentance and forgiveness, as Christ shapes and forms you through His Word, as He strengthens you with His body and blood in the Lord's Supper.

The intended result of the transformation is summarized in Romans 12:1-2. "Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will." Hearts that have been remodeled by God to not conform to the ways of the world, but are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit to live for Christ. Hearts that have been remodeled by God seek not themselves, but offer themselves as living sacrifices in service to others.

There's an old bumper sticker that says, "Please be patient- God isn't finished with me yet!" As we must be patient with the inconvenience of remodeling before the new addition is completed, so we must be patient with one another during God's ongoing remodeling of our hearts. The sinful nature remains, and we are still "works in progress." But the finished project will be great- all of us, holy and perfect, our robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb, standing with the Savior in the mansions of our Father's house when that final Easter dawns in Heaven. Then God's new creation will be complete.

Peace to you in Christ,
Pastor Merrill