Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
On Sunday, we welcomed 5 new members to our church. I sort of think it was really 3 and we made Dale and Bonnie Richard official. One day, Dale came up to me and said we are going to join St. Johns. I said “what?” I remember Dale and Bonnie when I first started here. I couldn’t believe they weren’t members. Well, I am super glad we made them official. We also welcomed Debbie Boyd and Vincent Fleming to our church. Vincent’s wife Christina was not able to attend because she is pregnant with their first child. However, she is on bed rest until the baby’s birth. I hope you all will feel welcomed by all of our members. Welcome all to St. Johns.
I want to make sure that everybody knows that there is NO Saturday service this weekend. I hope all of us will support the children as they perform their program. I know it goes back a ways for some where our children perform their pageant. Let’s make sure we do not compare. This is the group of children we have. They will be just as cute and will give it their best effort, as the other children have done in the past.
Christmas Eve will be at 5:30 p.m. I hope we will see you all there to not only celebrate the anniversary of Jesus putting on flesh but also to wait for his return. Come Lord Jesus.
A reminder that Saturday and Sunday, December 28th & 29th, we will be singing a number of Christmas songs as well as reading Scripture. Songs and Scripture, that is a good mix.
I haven’t finalized my vacation days. Chances are, I will not be in the office starting the 27th of December. We will see how long my wife puts up with me.
My hope when the new year comes around, we will go from believers in Jesus Christ (eternal life giving) to disciples of Jesus Christ. Do you know that only 4% of Christians say they are disciples of Jesus Christ, No wonder our Synod has taken the year of 2025 to develop disciples. I would like St. John’s to do so also. In other words, what would a follower of Jesus Christ look like or act like? Come find out in 2025.
How is reading the Bible in a year going? Are you hanging in there? Wondering if anyone is doing it? Can you email me or text me if you are? Do you like the commentary underneath? Could you email me or text me with that information also.
I hope all of you make the “breath prayer” a habit. I think it would be wise for us to let God speak first. Maybe as you breathe in you ask God to speak to you? Or maybe you remain silent. I don’t think there is a right or wrong way. Just listen to God as God listens to you.
What God mostly does is love you. (excerpt from Mostly What God Does by Savannah Guthrie)
Pastor Tom
815-223-1144
Readings for 4th Weekend of Advent – December 22nd
Micah 5:2-5a Luke 1:46b-55 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45
Reading the Bible in a Year- Monday, December 16th to Sunday December 22nd
Day Deuteronomy Psalms Proverbs Luke
Monday Ch 23- Ch 25 45:1-17 Ch 16:19 – Ch 17:10
Tuesday Ch 16- Ch 28:14 46 Ch 17:11-37
Wednesday Ch 28:15 – 68 47 Ch 18:1-30
Thursday Ch 29-Ch 30:10 10:1-10 Ch 18:31 – Ch 19:10
Friday Ch 30:11 – Ch 31:29 48:1-8 Ch 19:11-44
Saturday Ch 31-30 – Ch 32 48:9-14 Ch 19:45 – Ch 20:26
Sunday Ch 33-Ch 34:12 49:1-20 Ch 20:27 – Ch 21:4
Deuteronomy – We finished another book (Yeah). Okay, here is the issue I have. You may agree or disagree. That is fine. Let’s first agree to disagree. But here is the issue: I am always drawn to sayings that are repeated. To me, that is a big flashing sign, “THIS IS IMPORTANT!” The chapters we read have more rules to follow. But Moses, who is the author, explains the reason why the Jewish people need to follow them. Within the material we read this week, 7X it was mentioned about the importance to take care of the widow, the poor, the orphan and the alien in our midst. Do the policies that are currently being followed in the U.S. support these groups of people? It hurts me inside when I hear of programs that directly affect these groups in a negative way. Should we ignore this or should we fight against this? I would be interested to hear what you think.
Psalm 46:10 is something we should all listen to: “Be still, and know that I am God!” Probably one we should memorize. I am getting in the habit of highlighting all the different names and descriptions of God that the psalmist uses. 46:1 is a good one. 47:2, 48:1 and 48:9 are others.
Proverbs – I struggle a little bit with Proverbs. Don’t know why. We are now into these one liners from Solomon. They are filled with wisdom. I cheated and finished Proverbs 10. I like what comes after verse 10.
Luke – I think chapter 19 is a pivotal chapter. Jesus enters Jerusalem. I think this is the part we may be a little more familiar with. It starts with the triumphant entry. Most of us think it will end with Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. But Luke ends it at a different spot. We will have to wait a little while to see. I think it is really important to understand who your audience is. For Matthew, it was the Jewish people. For Luke, his audience is extremely mixed. Yes, certainly Jewish people, but also a great deal of Gentiles. The type of audience will affect the way you write. Some of you are aware some of Luke’s writings do not appear in Matthew’s and the order of things are different. That sounds like a Bible study to me.