February 8, 2008
Hi St. John Members and Friends,
When life is causing you trouble and grief, do you ever wonder, 'Has God forgotten me?' 'Does God care?' 'Is God There?'
Last week while reading my devotions I saw some verses that had never caught my attention before. They are the last 3 verses of Exodus 2.
23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
Please remember that the Hebrews had been in Egypt, according to the Bible, for about 430 years. They were in slavery, and suffering. Surely if anyone had reason to ask 'Has God forgotten us?' 'Is God There?', it was the Hebrews.
But, you see the verbs I underlined in Exodus 2:24 and 25. Even when the people thought God was missing and forgetting them, God HEARD them, He REMEMBERED, them, He LOOKED ON them, and He was CONCERNED about them. Because of God's concern He acted in the Exodus.
On Tuesday I met with 6 Cub Scouts to talk about their faith and one asked, 'Why does God allow evil?' That's a big question for a young man. Basically he was asking, 'Does God Care?' 'Is God there?' (What a blessing to meet with those young men!)
Exodus reminds us, God does care and He is there for us. This Sunday in worship, we get to consider some of these same questions again as we look at the temptation of Jesus. I hope to see you there.
God's Blessings,
Pastor Rockey
This is my first 'thoughts from the Pastor' to all members. I hope this message is a blessing to you. If you don't want me to send these thoughts to you, please let me know.
Here are some other announcements below:
MID-WEEK LENTEN WORSHIP began last Wednesday with Ash Wednesday. For six straight Wednesday nights we will have a worship service at 6:30 p.m. to remember the suffering and death of Jesus to save us. Please note, worship begins at 6:30 p.m., not 7:00 p.m. each Wednesday night, following our Lenten Meal.
The theme for these Wednesday Worship Services is ‘The Places of the Passion,’ looking at the road Jesus took to His suffering and death, and using pictures from Modern Day Israel which Pastor Jonathan took while in Israel this past November.
February 6-Lent 1 ‘The Mount of Olives - Desolation’
February 13-Lent 2 ‘The Upper Room – Strength for the Coming Trial’
February 20-Lent 3 ‘The Garden of Gethsemane – Desperate Prayer’
February 27-Lent 4 ‘The High Priest’s House – Voluntary Injustice’
March 5 -Lent 5 ‘The Hill of Torture and Death’
March 12 –Lent6 ‘The Tomb of Defeat and Victory’
LENTEN FELLOWSHIP MEALS - Each Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. a meal is served before worship. There is no cost. This is not a pot luck, so you don’t need to bring anything.
Members of St. John are asked to volunteer to serve these meals to make it easier to attend Wednesday night worship. This also gives a wonderful opportunity to spend time with God’s people, and to meet new members. Plan on attending!
We need to sign up to serve meal 3, 5, or 6! Please see the signup sheet on the back table.
AN ACOLYTE TRAINING MEETING will be held for all those in Second Grade this year and older on Saturday, February 16. The meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m. After a meeting and class, we will go to McDonalds for lunch. If you have a child, or grand child who is this age, please encourage them to attend.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE YOUR NEWSLETTER BY E-MAIL INSTEAD OF IN THE MAIL??? There are many advantages to receiving a newsletter by e-mail. They include
If you would like to receive your newsletter in this way, please e-mail Judy Stahancyk, our administrative assistant and let her know. Judy’s office e-mail is stjohn@mtaonline.net. Judy will send you an e-mail with a link to our newsletter on our web page. You can read the newsletter on line, or you can print it out.
NEW CUSTODIAN(S) – Monty Hart has stepped down as the St. John Custodian after 10 years serving at St. John. Cathy Glaser and her son Ty have been hired as the new St. John Custodians. Thanks, Monty! Welcome Cathy and Ty!
NEW HYMNALS - St. John voted in its Congregation Meeting on December 2 to purchase the new Lutheran Service Book (LSB) hymnals of our denomination for use at St. John. We are seeking to purchase 250 hymnals at $20.00 each, and are giving members a chance to buy hymnals for congregational use. At the current time donations have been committed for 215 of the 250 hymnals we committed to buy. A sign up sheet is on the back table for those wishing to donate hymnals. Please place your donation in the offering plate with a note in the memo that the donation is for hymnals.