Worship Series
Better Together
Reclaiming our St. John’s Community
COVID has been hard on community. This has been true for families, for friends, and for the city in which we live. It has also been hard on our congregation as a community. For months, we could not worship together, and some are still not ready to resume in-person gathering. So many activities that have been part of our normal congregational life had to be put aside in the interest of safety and health.
It’s time to reclaim who we are as the community of God’s people. It’s time to reboot our identity as members of a church, branches on a vine, sheep of a flock, stones in a building, and parts of a body.
The worship series “Better Together” focuses on what it means to be a congregation. We will be looking at the Biblical metaphors and images for the local church, and seeking to apply these truths to our lives, both individually and as a congregation. Along the way, we will be inviting your participation in activities and events designed to bring us together as a church, so that we can rediscover the Biblical truth that as the people of God, we are truly “better together.”
August 22 Reclaiming Community
The Christian Faith is designed to be lived in community. Focus on the “one another” words in scripture and being mirror of the community of God, the Trinity.
August 29 Beloved Bride
Focusing on the image of the church as the bride of Christ. The church is the beloved of the bridegroom for whom He suffered and died. Do we look at each other as the beloved of God?
September 5 Caring Family
We are a family. The Trinity uses family language. Our relationship with God is in familial terms. This week will emphasize caring for each other. We will especially celebrate our Stephen Ministry and Biblical Counseling Ministry this Sunday, as well as other ways we support and care for each other.
September 12 Listening Flock
We are the sheep that hear the Shepherd’s voice. This week will focus on being fed by the Shepherd. The blessing of feeding on the Word together. We will be resuming Sunday Morning Bible Class this week, as well as training for new small group leaders on using Right Now Media video resources for small groups.
September 19 Serving Body
We are uniquely gifted and brought together as one body to serve. This week will focus on serving in and through the congregation. We will highlight ways of serving together as the body of Christ and look forward to a ministry fair on October 3.
September 26 People on Mission
The Church exists on earth for the sake of God’s mission. We are called to be workers for the harvest, sent by Christ into the mission field of our daily lives. Our guest preacher this Sunday is Rev. Joe Robb, California-Nevada-Hawaii District Assistant to the President for Missions.
October 3 Worshiping Community
The end goal of the mission is worship. We will focus on the importance of worship and what happens when we come together. We will introduce ways that we will be enhancing worship as we move forward.
Please Make Note of these dates:
- September 12 – Sunday Morning Bible Class beings, led by Pastor Mike after worship
- September 15 and 22 – Training for Small Group Leaders using Right Now Media Video resources
- October 3 – Ministry Fair: Learn about ways to serving in and through St. John’s
- October 6 – November 17: Foundations Class led by Pastor Mike – Biblical Christianity, world view, ethics and discipleship
But wait! There’s more!
Better Together: Into the World
The Church is better together, but not to become an insular, inward-focused club. We are better together not just for the sake of our own growth. We are better together for the world, for sake of the people beloved by Jesus who do not yet know Him as Savior. In John 17:21 Jesus prayed for all His followers, including us today, “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
We will follow our “Better Together” series with three weeks focused on joining together in mission. We are not only better together with each other. We are also better together with those in our families, neighborhoods and beyond who have yet to come to faith in Jesus.
- October 10: Joining Jesus on His Mission
- October 17: Joining Jesus in our Neighborhoods
- October 24: Joining Jesus for the World
“Better Together”
August 22, 2021
As We Gather
COVID has been hard on community. This has been true for families, for friends, and for the city in which we live. It has also been hard on our congregation as community. For months, we could not worship together, and some are still not ready to resume in-person gathering. So many activities that are part of our congregational life had to be put aside in the interest of safety and health.
It’s time to reclaim who we are as the community of God’s people. It’s time to reboot our identity as members of a church, branches on a vine, sheep of a flock, stones in a building, and parts of a body.
The worship series “Better Together” focuses on what it means to be a congregation. We will be looking at the Biblical metaphors and images for the local church, and seeking to apply these truths to our lives, both individually and as a congregation. Along the way, we will be inviting your participation in activities and events designed to bring us together as church, so that we can rediscover the Biblical truth that, as the people of God, we are “better together.”
Live-stream and in-person worship begin at 9:30 AM. Please CLICK HERE to download the handout, and to link to the live-stream itself.
We will be streaming on our Facebook Page as well: CLICK HERE
Thank You From Pastor Mark
Anne and I appreciate all the planning, work, and volunteer hours that went into providing a wonderful day of retirement celebration. The worship service and reception were awesome. We are humbled by the generous outpouring of appreciation and love. Thank you to everyone who was involved in making this day special. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as a pastor of St. John’s for over 20 years and in full time ministry for 33 years. We are looking forward to God’s “what’s next” in our lives. To Him alone be the glory. God’s Peace, Pastor Mark, emeritus.
Congregational Open Forum August 29
After worship on August 29, Pastor Mike will lead an open forum regarding St. John’s Ministry going into the future. We will look at changes in light of Pastor Mark’s retirement, as well as current discussion about future staffing. We will also talk about worship and plans to gather input as we shape worship for the future. The forum will be streamed.
Small Groups and Leader Training
One of the best ways to grow as disciple is being part of a small group that gathers around God’s Word. The small group forms a community that comes together for growth, for prayer, for service, and for encouragement in following Jesus
We are seeking to form multiple new small groups this fall, to meet for 4-6 weeks in October/November.
In order for this to happen, we need people willing to lead. Pastor Mike will be offering leader training on Wednesday evenings in September. On September 8 and 15, we will talk about leading a small group, including making use of Right Now Media resources.
If you are interested in leading a group, please contact Pastor Mike.
Drivers Needed
We have members that no longer drive and need a ride to and from church on Sunday mornings. If you can help, please contact the church office.
Family and Children Resources
“Children’s Church Lesson” This is a weekly Sunday School/Children’s Church type lesson for parents to lead with small children. Please use this at home during this time when we are unable to offer our regular Children’s Church. Here are this week’s suggestions:
- THIS WEEK’S LESSON CLICK HERE
- THIS WEEK’S COLORING SHEET CLICK HERE
- THIS WEEK’S VIDEO CLICK HERE
August 2021 monthly Vine is available on our website.
To keep up-to-date with what is happening at St. John’s, CLICK HERE
Upcoming Events in August
Please mark these Sundays on your calendar!
- August 22 – Installation of Megan Mathison. We are installing our new 2nd grade teacher Megan Mathison and rededicating the entire staff. We celebrate the start of the new school year with our theme “Better Together.”
- August 29 – Installation of the Board of Directors. We will install the new members of the Board of Directors. There will be a Congregational Open Forum after worship to present and discuss future staffing.
Youth Ministry
Welcome back to school! We are officially out of summer mode. We will be kicking things off with Surge on Tuesday the 31st for 5th-8th graders & Confirmation Information meeting on September 1st for 7th & 8th Graders and their parents.
Napa State Hospital Donation UPDATE
Napa State has changed their donation request list. Please note the following…
Needed:
- calendars
- greeting cards-no glitter
- fabric
- construction paper
- crayons
- water color paints
NO LONGER ACCEPTED:
Magazines and yarn
Where do I find sermons and services that I missed?
You can find previous sermons in three places. The full services are available on the YouTube channel.
- YouTube Channel:
- https://www.youtube.com/user/stjohnsnapaca/live
- There are playlists for sermons, Sunday Services, Wednesday Night Worship and teaching on Matthew
- RightNow Media Channel
- https://www.rightnowmedia.org/CustomLibrary/41667
- Scroll down to find recommendations as well as sermon and Gospel of Matthew lessons
- Website
- https://stjohnslutheran.net/sermons-2/
- The sermons are arranged by worship series
The Essential Ministry Of The Body Of Christ https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Training/Post/View/163644
In this 56-minute session, Paul Tripp, international conference speaker and Executive Director of the Center for Pastoral Life and Care, points out that, if we are to live in the Body of Christ as God has called us to, then we automatically become ministers of His grace to each other. And that’s hard to do.
If you haven’t already signed up for Right Now Media, click on this link: http://bit.ly/STJOHNSNAPA
If you haven’t already signed up for Right Now Media, CLICK HERE.
Support SJLS through Scrip! Easiest Fundraiser Ever!!
See below for updated details (Ongoing News… ) Click here to watch a video on how easy Scrip is using the RaiseRight app. Remember there are always cards you can purchase in the school office especially our local vendors, Foodshed, Hop Creek and Tarla Bar and Grill, but using the RaiseRight app is so convenient for all of your everyday purchases.
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