St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church

Please join us for Worship Service:
Saturday Evening: 6:00 p.m.
Sunday Morning: 10:00 a.m.

Worship is a special time. In God's house, God's people step away from the distractions and difficulties of daily life and gather as a spiritual family in the promised presence of himself. Why do we come? What is the primary focus of worship - what WE do, or what GOD does for us?

Certainly there are things that we do in our worship. We join with brothers and sisters in the faith and call upon the Triune God to be with us. We humbly and sincerely admit how far we have fallen and how miserably we have failed our God. There, in worship, we join our voices in hymns of prayer, praise, and proclamation. Every week we express what we believe in creeds that have been spoken by Christians for centuries. There, we pray. But if we think of worship as primarily something we do, we are missing the most important part of our worship. Worship is especially about what God does for us in Christ (Divine Service).

Lutheran worship—Biblical worship—is above all God speaking to us in his Word. It is God proclaiming through human messengers the crushing
blows of his law. In worship, God lovingly speaks to guilt-burdened sinners the sweet good news of sins forgiven and death defeated. In readings
and sermons, God instructs, strengthens, equips, and motivates his people for lives of Christian service. Worship is where God comes to us in his
sacraments, adopting sinners into his family through Holy Baptism and strengthening the faith of his people by giving them his true body and blood
in the Lord's Supper. In worship, with every syllable of his Word that is proclaimed and spoken, God assures us of what he has done for us; in turn,
he also reminds us of the mission that he has now entrusted to us.

When the focus of worship is on what God does for us, then worship is the blessing God intends - then it helps us to understand ourselves and all of our weaknesses - then it direct us to the grace and love of God. When worship is centered on what God has done for us, it transports us to the foot of the cross, where Jesus demonstrated a love both undeserved and inconceivable. God's service of us in Christ fills us with joy that continues long after the worship service ends.

Sad to say, many lose sight of this primary focus and think of worship as primarily an activity that they do. When that happens, people tend to develop certain unhealthy expectations of worship. They begin to view worship as something that should be "fun" or they measure worship by its entertainment value. They adopt a consumer approach to worship, expecting that worship should be shaped by their own tastes and that it should cater to their own comfort level. They insist that worship should reflect what they want, what they like, and what they find pleasing. This would better be termed 'consumer driven' verses 'Christ driven' worship. With this 'consumer-driven' model, we are in grave danger of losing out on what God wants to share with us in that precious time in his house.

King David said, "I rejoiced with those who said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord' " (Psalm 122:1). David could say that because he knew and remembered the true focus of God-pleasing worship. God-pleasing worship always focuses on the proclamation of Christ and on all that God has done for sinners like us in Christ. With God's gifts to us in Christ at the center of our focus, then worship will never be dull, never boring, and certainly never irrelevant. When Christ is revealed and distributed through God's Word, only then does worship serve as the blessing that GOD wants it to be.

supper The Lord's Supper (also called Holy Communion) for the Christian Church has always been a vital means by which God serves His people in worship – so it remains at St. John's today. By the earliest Christians the Lord's Supper was often called "the medicine of immortality". Much like any medicine, the Lord's Supper can be received properly and to one's benefit but also improperly and potentially to one's harm.

Out of Christian love and concern that no one receive this "medicine" in an improper way or to his or her harm (1 Corinthians 10:27-32), we practice closed communion – that is, we only commune those:

(1) who have been instructed in what our church believes, especially as it is taught in Luther's Small Catechism

(2) who make public profession of that faith by membership in a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod or its sister synod the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
(We kindly ask that visitors from our fellowship please speak with a pastor before communing.)

Those not instructed in this faith (this confession) and those who do not presently make public profession of that faith by their church membership are kindly and respectfully asked not to eat and drink of the Sacrament at this time.

We would love to have you join us for this meal in the future. If you are interested in learning what we as a church believe, teach, and confess, please inquire of one of the pastors regarding instruction in this confession that unites us.

SERMON LINKS

Transfiguration - Keep on Hearing Him. (Mark 9:2-9)

Epiphany 6 - Jesus, The Great Physician (Mark 1:40-42)

Epiphany 5 - We Are All Beggars (Luke 18:9-14).

Epiphany 4 - The Truly Blessed Life (Psalm 1)




Please join us for Worship Service: Saturday Evening: 6:00 p.m. Sunday Morning: 10:00 a.m. Worship is a special time. In God's house, God's people step away from the distractions and difficulties of daily life and gather as a spiritual family in the promised presence of himself. Why do we come? What is the primary focus of worship - what WE do, or what GOD does for us? Certainly there are things that we do in our worship. We join with brothers and sisters in the faith and call upon the Triune God to be with us. We humbly and sincerely admit how far we have fallen and how miserably we have failed our God. There, in worship, we join our voices in hymns of prayer, praise, and proclamation. Every week we express what we believe in creeds that have been spoken by Christians for centuries. There, we pray. But if we think of worship as primarily something we do, we are missing the most important part of our worship. Worship is especially about what God does for us in Christ (Divine Service). Lutheran worship—Biblical worship—is above all God speaking to us in his Word. It is God proclaiming through human messengers the crushing blows of his law. In worship, God lovingly speaks to guilt-burdened sinners the sweet good news of sins forgiven and death defeated. In readings and sermons, God instructs, strengthens, equips, and motivates his people for lives of Christian service. Worship is where God comes to us in his sacraments, adopting sinners into his family through Holy Baptism and strengthening the faith of his people by giving them his true body and blood in the Lord's Supper. In worship, with every syllable of his Word that is proclaimed and spoken, God assures us of what he has done for us; in turn, he also reminds us of the mission that he has now entrusted to us. When the focus of worship is on what God does for us, then worship is the blessing God intends - then it helps us to understand ourselves and all of our weaknesses - then it direct us to the grace and love of God. When worship is centered on what God has done for us, it transports us to the foot of the cross, where Jesus demonstrated a love both undeserved and inconceivable. God's service of us in Christ fills us with joy that continues long after the worship service ends. Sad to say, many lose sight of this primary focus and think of worship as primarily an activity that they do. When that happens, people tend to develop certain unhealthy expectations of worship. They begin to view worship as something that should be "fun" or they measure worship by its entertainment value. They adopt a consumer approach to worship, expecting that worship should be shaped by their own tastes and that it should cater to their own comfort level. They insist that worship should reflect what they want, what they like, and what they find pleasing. This would better be termed 'consumer driven' verses 'Christ driven' worship. With this 'consumer-driven' model, we are in grave danger of losing out on what God wants to share with us in that precious time in his house. King David said, "I rejoiced with those who said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord' " (Psalm 122:1). David could say that because he knew and remembered the true focus of God-pleasing worship. God-pleasing worship always focuses on the proclamation of Christ and on all that God has done for sinners like us in Christ. With God's gifts to us in Christ at the center of our focus, then worship will never be dull, never boring, and certainly never irrelevant. When Christ is revealed and distributed through God's Word, only then does worship serve as the blessing that GOD wants it to be. The Lord's Supper (also called Holy Communion) for the Christian Church has always been a vital means by which God serves His people in worship – so it remains at St. John's today. By the earliest Christians the Lord's Supper was often called "the medicine of immortality". Much like any medicine, the Lord's Supper can be received properly and to one's benefit but also improperly and potentially to one's harm. Out of Christian love and concern that no one receive this "medicine" in an improper way or to his or her harm (1 Corinthians 10:27-32), we practice closed communion – that is, we only commune those: (1) who have been instructed in what our church believes, especially as it is taught in Luther's Small Catechism (2) who make public profession of that faith by membership in a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod or its sister synod the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. (We kindly ask that visitors from our fellowship please speak with a pastor before communing.) Those not instructed in this faith (this confession) and those who do not presently make public profession of that faith by their church membership are kindly and respectfully asked not to eat and drink of the Sacrament at this time. We would love to have you join us for this meal in the future. If you are interested in learning what we as a church believe, teach, and confess, please inquire of one of the pastors regarding instruction in this confession that unites us. SERMON LINKS Transfiguration - Keep on Hearing Him. (Mark 9:2-9) Epiphany 6 - Jesus, The Great Physician (Mark 1:40-42) Epiphany 5 - We Are All Beggars (Luke 18:9-14). Epiphany 4 - The Truly Blessed Life (Psalm 1)
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