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St John’s
Evangelical Lutheran Church & School 520 W Chestnut St, Lake City, MN 55041
651-345-3523 (church) 651-345-4092 (school)
www.StJohnsLakeCity.com
Sixth Sunday of Easter 17 May 2020 9:00 A.M.
Welcome! We’re glad you’re here at our virtual worship
service! We’re a group of people from all different
backgrounds who love to learn about what God has done for
us. You and everyone are welcome to learn about God with
the people of St. John’s and find helpful guidance for your
life. Feel free to bring us your questions, or your feedback so
we can improve. Or ask how to be part of a group
conversation about faith in Jesus.
We would love to stay in contact with you. Let us know
how you want to be contacted: email us so we can use your
email address to send pertinent info as often as you want, or
call us with your phone number so we can call, or mail us your
mailing address. God bless your week. Hear God’s Word
with us again!
Pre-Worship Pondering Horatius Bonar
O love that casts out fear; O love that casts out sin, Oh, stay no more without but come and dwell within. True sunlight of the soul, surround us as we go; So shall our way be safe, our feet no straying know.
Great love of God, come in! O spring of lasting peace, O living water, come, spring up and never cease. Love of the living God, of Father and of Son, Love of the Holy Ghost, make now our hearts as one.
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Service of the Word
Service Theme Christ is Risen! Love and Obey!
Hymn #141
Invocation Pastor: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Congregation (speaks): Amen.
Confession and Absolution
P: We have come into the presence of God, who created us to love and
serve Him as His dear children. But we have disobeyed Him and
deserve only His wrath and punishment. Therefore, let us confess
our sins to Him and plead for His mercy.
C: Merciful Father in heaven, I am altogether sinful from birth.
In countless ways I have sinned against You and do not
deserve to be called Your child. But trusting in Jesus my
Savior, I pray: Have mercy on me according to Your unfailing
love. Cleanse me from my sin, and take away my guilt. P: God our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your sins. By the perfect
life and innocent death of our Lord Jesus Christ, He has removed
your guilt forever. You are His own dear child. May God give you
strength to live according to His will.
C: Amen.
P: In the peace of forgiveness, let us praise the Lord.
Song of Praise Oh Taste and See
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Prayer of the Day
P: Father of mercy, You have blessed us in more ways than we can count,
especially by raising Your Son, the Messiah, from death. We are glad to
continue celebrating His resurrection. Inspire us through Your Word to
love You more than anyone or anything else, and to obey You willingly.
Hear us and help us because Jesus, our Substitute and Advocate, is
pleasing in Your sight. He is there at Your right hand, alive and
reigning with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Epistle Lesson 1 John 3:13-18 11This is the message you heard from the beginning: We
should love one another. 12Do not be like Cain, who belonged
to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he
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murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his
brother’s were righteous. 13Do not be surprised, my brothers,
if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from
death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does
not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates his brother is a
murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in
him. 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid
down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for
our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his
brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of
God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or
tongue but with actions and in truth.
P: You have heard the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Psalm of the Day Psalm 66 (p. 90 in the hymnal)
Verse of the Day 1 Peter 1:21 P: Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! If
anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love
him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel John 14:15-21 15If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will
ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be
with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot
accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But
you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18I
will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before
long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.
Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will
realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in
you. 21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the
one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my
Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.
P: You have heard the Gospel of the Lord.
Hymn of the Day #143*
Sermon Genesis 4:1-16 1Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and
gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I
have brought forth a man.” 2Later she gave birth to his brother
Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3In the
course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an
offering to the LORD. 4But Abel brought fat portions from
some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with
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favor on Abel and his offering, 5but on Cain and his offering
he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his
face was downcast. 6Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are
you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7If you do what is
right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is
right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but
you must master it.” 8Now Cain said to his brother Abel,
“Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field,
Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9Then the
LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t
know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10The LORD
said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood
cries out to me from the ground. 11Now you are under a curse
and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to
receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12When you
work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You
will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” 13Cain said to the
LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14Today you
are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your
presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and
whoever finds me will kill me.” 15But the LORD said to him,
“Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven
times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one
who found him would kill him. 16So Cain went out from the
LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Don’t Be Like Cain
Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and
earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was
conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary,
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suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was
buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again
from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the
right hand of God the Father almighty. From there He will
come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Christian Church, the
communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection
of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
We Gather a Thank Offering
Prayers of the Church
Lord’s Prayer C: Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass
against us,
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Hymn #340*
Prayer about God’s Word P: Blessed Lord, You caused all the Holy Scriptures to be written for
our learning. Grant that we may hear them, read, mark, learn and
inwardly digest them, that, comforted by Your Holy Word, we may
patiently and steadfastly embrace the blessed hope of everlasting
life, which You have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives
and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
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Exhortation and Blessing P: Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one
another. Serve the Lord with gladness.
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine
on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with His
favor and grant you His peace.
Hymn #355*
Acknowledgments Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
Material reprinted from CW: Service of the Word by permission of Northwestern Publishing
House because this congregation has purchased enough copies of CW.
“O Love that Casts out Fear” from CW604, in the public domain.
Memory Verse for the Month Titus 3:5
God saved us, not because of righteous things we had
done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the
washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
BIRTHDAYS this week are; Travis Krucker, Charlotte Achey, Scott Hawkinson, Carmen Tomfohrde, Marlis Heitman, Carl Springer, Paige Blattner, Dana Springer, Irene Bremer. Please send corrections and additions to the office Monday - Friday, 8 am - 3 pm at 345-3523 or email [email protected].
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SERVING THE LORD AND US May 17, 2020
Preacher: Pastor Nathan Cordes 651-448-3559 [email protected]
Organist: Bob Wolff Audiovisual Techs: Chris Fischer, Kristi Gross Flower Committee for May: Judy Lortscher and Lois Brinkman Our LES Teachers: Mr. David Zabel, Principal, Gr. 6-8 Miss Katie Siverly, Gr. PK Mrs. Denise Steffenhagen, Gr. K Mrs. Jamie Fischer, Gr. PK Mrs. Erin Achey, Gr. 1-2 Miss Molly Ring, Gr. 3-5
Some of the Ways We Responded to Jesus’ Love
Attendance last week Sunday Morning Worship–God knows
Sunday Bible Class – 0 Men’s Bible Class – 0 G.R.O.W – 0 W.E.B.S. – 0
Memorials: Ruthabelle Brunkow; General Memorial $15, Video $25, Cemetery $20, School $50, Playground $790
We thank the Lord for moving us to give generously for the spread of God’s Word! Monthly financial reports are available on the information desk
or by email or U.S. Mail.
RETIREMENT GIFT After teaching Kindergarten at St. John’s for seven years and teaching in our WELS Lutheran Elementary Schools for 25 years, Denise Steffenhagen is retiring from the full-time public ministry of the gospel. We’d like to send her off with a nice appreciation. Our Administrative Board is encouraging members of St. John’s to send cards and/or gifts of money to the church: 520 W Chestnut St, Lake City, MN 55041. Cards will be placed in a basket and delivered to Mrs. Steffenhagen. Make checks payable to St. John’s. It’s ok to include your check inside your card because we’ll open all envelopes so we can process the gifts. If you prefer to give a gift of cash, please drop it off at the church office—don’t mail cash. But be sure your cash gift is labeled as “gift for Denise Steffenhagen.”
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Opportunities for Learning and Spending Time Together Virtually May 17, 2020 – May 24, 2020
Sunday – Mother’s Day 9:00 AM Live-stream of our
service on YouTube 10:30 AM Rebroadcast of 9 AM
service on local cable Channel 18
Monday & Tuesday
Wednesday 7:00 PM Rebroadcast of Sunday’s
service on channel 18
Thursday
Friday – End of Fourth Quarter
Saturday
Sunday 9:00 AM Live-stream of our
service on YouTube 10:30 AM Rebroadcast of 9 AM
service on local cable Channel 18
LADIES AID REPORT The February Last Sunday Offering totaled $450. We sent $212.50 to our local chapter of Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society and $212.50 to the Martin Luther College Ladies’ Auxiliary.
RESUMING WORSHIP Our Governor is likely to extend the restrictions on gathering until at least the end of May. This additional time will help your leaders here at St. John’s. We’ve been working on a plan to resume worship, but we still have some details to finalize. After that we need to communicate the plan to all our members and give everyone time to adjust their minds for a new way of doing things. The content of our services won’t change—we will gather around God’s unchanging Word. But getting in and out of the worship area in an orderly way while keeping six feet apart, making room for everyone who is ready to come back, worshiping with masks on, staying seated for Holy Communion—wow, lots of changes to get used to! We want to gather to glorify God, and we want to keep each other safe. There’s a middle path between extremes. Of course, once a super majority of the population has been
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vaccinated or has recovered from the virus, we may be able to set aside most precautions. Until then we plan to hold close to Jesus’ statement: “Everyone will know you are my disciples if you love one another” (John 13:35). “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12).
OBEYING THE GOVERNMENT What does God’s Word teach us about obeying the government? Two passages especially come to mind. The first is Romans 13:1-2: “1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” The second is 1 Peter 2:13-17. “13Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.” Remember: the government’s chief responsibility is keeping its citizens safe in body. The government is well within its responsibilities to require any kind of quarantine it deems good for the health of its citizens. In the passages above God obligates even Christians to honor their government with obedience. We are to line ourselves up under our government so as to catch all the
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blessings God wants to give us. There are few exceptions in Holy Scripture. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were commanded to worship an idol, they expressed great respect for King Nebuchadnezzar as they declined to obey him. They even worked in some wise witnessing words, hoping to turn their king’s heart to the one true God (see Daniel 3:16-18). When the apostles were commanded to stop teaching about Jesus as Savior, they replied, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:19). They were willing to suffer the consequences of disobeying the authorities rather than suffer the consequences of disobeying their Savior Jesus. From this we learn that we must disobey our government when it commands us to sin, when it commands us to do the opposite of what God commands. Is our government commanding us to sin by its “stay at home” order? No. It’s not saying that we must stop proclaiming Jesus as Savior. It is not telling us what to teach or not teach. The restriction is against gathering, not just Christian churches gathering. And why ‘no gathering’? Because the virus needs people to gather in order to infect others. We can advance arguments about why our government is reacting more strongly to this coronavirus than it does to influenza A or B. We can write to our governor and our state legislators. We can run for office or support officials who agree with positions we hold dear. But we do not rebel against our government, because that would be the same as rebelling against our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who established our government. In case you wonder what Martin Luther had to say on this subject, here’s a short quotation: “Nothing can be more poisonous, hurtful, or devilish then a rebel” (Here I Stand, p.280). Some of our professors have said it this way: “Lutherans do not rebel.” Let’s keep to the middle and avoid the extremes (see Ecclesiastes 7:18).
