E-Vine for September 3, 2015
This Week’s Memory Verse
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Romans 1:16-17
This Sunday: We continue our worship series on Paul’s letter to the Romans. Grace was the heart of the message that Paul preached. As he began to prepare to go to Rome to preach and teach there, he sent a letter to the Church to serve as an introduction to his message. That letter, Paul’s letter to the Romans, is the most systematic and thorough treatment of the plan of salvation in the New Testament. Reading almost like a theology text book, Paul lays out the need for grace and the amazing gift of grace.
We look at the need for grace. In our selection from Romans today, Paul makes the point that God does not take sin lightly. In fact, sin prompts God to wrath and judgment. Grace does not mean that God tolerates our sin, but that He is willing to give His life in order to gift us with forgiveness. We have an amazing need for this amazing grace.
- Isaiah 13:6-13
- Romans 1:17-32
- John 8:31-36
- Sanctuary Choir practice has resumed! New members are always welcome. Join us at 7:00 PM on Wednesdays!
- Farewell to the Jacobsens: The Sanctuary Choir is sponsoring a farewell potluck for John and JoAn Jacobsen who are moving to Missouri this month. All are invited to the potluck on the patio on Wednesday, September 9, at 6:00 p.m. Please bring a main dish, side, salad, or dessert to share. Table service will be provided.
- Wine Donations: Once again, the Worship Preparation Committee is seeking donations of red wine for Communion. Donations should be a minimum of 2 bottles, the usual amount needed for one service. Thank you for considering this opportunity to participate in the worship life of St. John’s.
- Baptism Workshop: Are you interested in Baptism, either for yourself or your children? Our next Baptism Workshop will be on Tuesday, September 15, at 7:00 PM in Room 8. Pastor Mike and Pastor Mark will present the biblical teaching on Baptism, as well as how we do Baptism at St. John’s. We will also discuss nurturing the faith life of young children. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact the church office.
- Financial Peace University: We all need a plan for our money. Financial Peace University (FPU) is that plan! Through video teaching, class discussions and interactive small group activities, FPU presents biblical, practical steps to get from where you are to where you’ve dreamed you could be. This plan will show you how to get rid of debt, manage your money, spend and save wisely, and much more! Each of the 9 weekly classes are about one hour and forty-five minutes long. The next session will be held at St. John’s on Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM from September 17 to November 12. Materials are $93 (plus $9.30 shipping) per household. Register and order materials for the class online at http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/locations/class/1003258
- REFRESH, RE-ENERGIZE & RECONNECT on a Lutheran Marriage Encounter Weekend! Give your spouse the gift of your time and attention away from your daily routine. The next Weekend is scheduled October 2 – 4, 2015 at the Holiday Inn in Rancho Cordova, CA. Married husbands & wives can apply now at www.GodLovesMarriage.org. Contact Pastor Ted & Marty Hartman at tnmheart@gmail.com or 530-333-4628 for more information. But hurry! Weekends fill fast and pre-registration is required by September 4.
- Campus Security: Please remember to check that doors are properly closed and locked as you leave the room you are using. Thanks for helping us take care of our campus.
- Children’s Church: We have openings for children’s church leaders for both the preschool – 1st grade children’s church, and the 2nd – 4th grade class. Are you interested in learning more about serving in this way? Please contact Pastor Mike.
- Aaron Comfort Dog Visits: If you would like to request a visit from Aaron, please contact Tim or Christy Kramer @ 255-0119. For an update on his activities, please check out his Facebook page at AaronComfortDog
- Mission India: Please keep our Mission India Literacy trainer in your prayers. As announced in church, we have met the goal for financially supporting our trainer for this year. But we are still collecting support for Mission India which will go toward supporting other literacy trainers. To support this ministry financially, please make out your check to St. John’s. You can use the designated offering envelopes or write on your check that it is for Mission India. For more information about our partnership with Mission India and the opportunity to change lives and draw them to Christ, see the display in the church entryway.
- John’s is on Twitter: Follow St. John’s on Twitter: @sjlcnapa.
- Are you on Facebook? So are we! https://www.facebook.com/sjlcnapa
- Abide Daily Devotion: How do I let Scripture guide my prayer life? How can I let Jesus direct what I pray for each day? The Abide Devotion, written by Pastor Mike, is a daily devotion designed to address these concerns. You can click here for more information and to subscribe to receive the devotion in your email each morning. https://stjohnslutheran.net/abide-devotion/
Abide Devotion will return on 6-25
Blessings in Christ! I am away from the church for a couple of days and will not be posting the Abide Devotion. It will return on Thursday, June 25. In the meantime, I encourage you to continue with the Moravian texts.
Blessings,
Pastor Mike Schmid
E-Vine May 7, 2015
The E-Vine: A Weekly News Update from St. John’s May 7, 2015
This Week’s Memory Verse
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
This Sunday: Jesus calls us to a life of love in our Gospel today. He loves us as the Father has loved Him, and we are to love others as Jesus has loved us. The love of God is modeled for us in Jesus, and given to us in Him as well. May His love surround you today, and flow through you in the coming week!
- Acts 10:34-48
- 1 John 5:1-8
- John 15:9-17
- Director of Youth Ministry Installation: Sam Troemel is finishing his Internship and will be installed as our Director of Youth Ministry. This will take place in a special worship service in the Faith Chapel on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 at 6:00 PM. A light reception will follow.
· Vacation Bible School: Please pre-register by June 1st to make sure your child receives a T-shirt. Here is the link to the registration form found on the church website:
https://stjohnslutheran.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/VBSREGISTRATION-FORM2015.pdf
Any questions please contact:
o Jenny Gass at jenny_gass@yahoo.com or 707-307-3866
o Joy Dahl at jdahl@stjohnsnapa.org or 707-287-7738
- Graduates: If you would like your information published in the June Vine, please give the church office the following items as soon as possible:
- High School Grads – Name, College Name (if attending)
- College Grads – Name, College Name, Major(s)
- Aaron Comfort Dog Visits: If you would like to request a visit from Aaron, please contact Tim or Christy Kramer @ 255-0119. For an update on his activities, please check out his Facebook page at AaronComfortDog
- Mission India: Please keep our Mission India Literacy trainer in your prayers. As announced in church, we have met the goal for financially supporting our trainer for this year. But we are still collecting support for Mission India which will go toward supporting other literacy trainers. To support this ministry financially, please make out your check to St. John’s. You can use the designated offering envelopes or write on your check that it is for Mission India. For more information about our partnership with Mission India and the opportunity to change lives and draw them to Christ, see the display in the church entryway.
- John’s is on Twitter Follow St. John’s on Twitter: @sjlcnapa.
- Are you on Facebook? So are we! https://www.facebook.com/sjlcnapa
- Abide Daily Devotion: How do I let Scripture guide my prayer life? How can I let Jesus direct what I pray for each day? The Abide Devotion, written by Pastor Mike, is a daily devotion designed to address these concerns. You can click here for more information and to subscribe to receive the devotion in your email each morning. https://stjohnslutheran.net/abide-devotion/
Abide Devotion for January 2, 2014
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. [1]
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The phrase that jumped out at me today was verse 16. “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Is God trying to get back at Saul? Is this some kind of Karma, that since Saul was a persecutor, he was going to be put through the same kind of experience? Is God trying to enlist Ananias’ cooperation by assuring him that Saul was going to get paid back?
Of course God is not so petty. So what’s the point of Saul suffering? And why does God mention it to Ananias?
This phrase, instead of indicating God’s displeasure with Saul, indicates how closely God is inviting Saul in, how Saul will fully experience the covenant identity. Notice what else God says about Saul, that he will be the chosen instrument for the next phase of the mission. Notice that God heals Saul and fills him with the Spirit. The Spirit’s filling of Saul is also seen in the powerful witnessing that takes place after his baptism.
So God is giving Saul everything that is part of being in covenant union with God and being a kingdom representative (see Covenant and Kingdom). But identity with Christ also means identity with His cross. As I pointed out yesterday, Jesus continues to suffer in the suffering on His church. This is an indication of His identity with the church, his body. By pointing out that Saul will suffer as well, God is telling Ananias that Saul is fully identified with Him, and is part of the body. This tells Ananias to hold nothing back in considering Saul a full brother. If God is willing to enter into covenant oneness with Saul, that means Ananias is in covenant with him as well.
This point has led me today to pray for those undergoing persecution for their faith, but also those who are fearful of witnessing because of the possibility of negative consequences. Jesus assures us that experiencing the negative is not a sign of failure (assuming we’re not being jerks!), but rather of identifying with Him and His cross.
So I pray for faithfulness for myself and all others who need encouragement in witness!
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
To subscribe to Abide Daily Devotion e-mail please click here.
[1] The New International Version. 2011 (Ac 9:10–22). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Abide Devotion for December 24, 2014
Acts 7:4-16
4 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6 God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. 7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’ p 8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.
11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money. [1]
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Stephen is recounting the history of God’s people in his defense before his attackers. But what struck me as I thought on this passage today is the fact that God is the real actor and mover here. God sent Abraham to the land of Canaan. God promised him a future. God was with Joseph in Egypt, and so Joseph was able to do all he did there in rescuing his family. God was the prime mover in the story of Stephen’s family.
Today on Christmas Eve, we’ll all likely hear or read or watch the account of the birth of Jesus. Here too, God is the prime mover. Not only because it’s the birth of the son of God, but that every important event is marked by His fingerprints: The announcement to Mary, the vision of Zechariah, Joseph’s dream, the angel’s announcement to the shepherds, the warning to the Magi. God was the director, moving the characters to play their part according to His will.
Am I seeing God as the prime mover of my story? Do I see God’s hand in the events of my life? What about the events of this week? The same God who led the Israelites is the God who is in our lives today. And even though my life may not seem as dramatic as Abraham or the birth of Jesus, God is still at work.
And that should lead me daily to consider the “Kairos” questions: What are you saying to me today God? What do you want me to do about it? I am to live my life expecting that God is the director, and so spend time seeking His direction for the role I am to play today.
So my prayer today is for discernment is hearing God’s voice and following His leading, that even though His direction may not be as obvious as an angel’s proclamation or a star in the sky, I may still hear Him and follow.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
To subscribe to Abide Daily Devotion e-mail please click here.
[1] The New International Version. 2011 (Ac 7:4–16). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.