THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
FROM THE RIVER TO THE MOUNTAIN:
COMMITTED TO A LOFTY CHARGE
Welcome Our Guest Worship Leader
Pastor Rodney Dietsche (Retired)
Pastor Dietsche’s Sermon:
“God Displays His Grace”
WELCOME! WE’RE GLAD YOU’RE HERE!
We pray that you find comfort, peace, and motivation through God’s Word today. In our worship bulletin, you will find an outline of today’s order of worship. The entire service can be found in the hymnal, up on the screen on Sunday at St. John’s and Emmanuel and livestreamed at www.stjohnsmontello.org and also at St. John’s in the Lower Level. At St. John’s, the restrooms are located in the link way, out the church entry way, to the left and down the stairs. At Emmanuel, they are located in the Parish Hall. You may also find a nursery changing station in the lower level of St. John’s.
ST. JOHN’S & EMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCHESJanuary 20 & 21, 2024 |
FROM THE RIVER TO THE MOUNTAIN
“Epiphany” comes from a Greek word that means “reveal.” Today, if someone says, “I had an epiphany,” he means he had some extremely important, life-changing revelation. Within the Church Year, that is the purpose of the season of Epiphany—to reveal important truths about Jesus Christ, truths that will indeed change your life. For most of his adult life, Jesus was known simply as Mary’s son. He followed his adoptive father, Joseph, into the carpentry business. People in his hometown of Nazareth probably thought of Jesus as a very nice man—hardworking, honest, a role model for others. (That is still how many think of Jesus today.) But around the age of thirty, the fuller truth about Jesus began to be revealed: his person, his power, his purpose. It started with Jesus standing in a river with John the Baptist. The biggest epiphany took place at a mountain, where select followers saw Jesus shining brighter than the sun. All these epiphanies—all these revelations about Jesus—changed the lives of everyone around him. In this season of Epiphany, as we follow Jesus from the river to the mountain, may they change us too.
THEME OF THE DAY: COMMITTED TO A LOFTY CHARGE
To whom does the work of salvation belong? Simple question. There is only one Savior. But this is how good Jesus is. So that our lives might have profound meaning and eternal purpose, he shares some of that work with us. He calls us not just to be followers, but to be follower-makers. Jesus asks some— prophets, apostles, pastors, missionaries, teachers—to do this full time. But ultimately Jesus asks all believers to serve as his ambassadors, sharing the gospel with whomever he brings into our sphere of influence. This lofty charge requires commitment—a willingness to abandon everything else should faithfulness require it. This is the life-changing revelation for this week. Jesus has committed us to a lofty charge: the privilege to play a role in his saving work.
ORDER OF SERVICE: Setting One; Hymnal Pages 154-164, 171
HYMNS: 901, 743, 695 (Hymns also posted on the screen)
PSALM: Psalm 62 “In God Alone My Soul Can Find Rest” (Hymnal/Screen)
SERMON: Jonah 3:1-5, 10 “God Displays His Grace”
OPENING HYMN: 901 “O Christians, Haste”
*Saturday at St. John’s, 1st confession/absolution-Hymnal Page 154*
*Sunday at Emmanuel & St. John’s-Pastor/Adult Choir “O Jesus, Lamb of God, You Are”-Confession and Absolution (Branches Band)
Pastor: Dear Friends, let us approach God with a true heart and confess our sins, asking him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us.
Choir: O Jesus, Lamb of God, you are my comfort and my guiding star; I come, a sinner, trustingly and bring my many sins with me.
Congregation: O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. I am bowed down and brought very low; I groan in anguish of heart. I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. O Lord, do not forsake me; be not far from me. Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.
Choir: O Lord, my sin indeed is great; I groan beneath the dreadful weight. Be merciful to me I pray; take guilt and punishment away.
(SILENT CONFESSION)
Choir: John the Baptist point to you and bids me cast my sin on you, for you have left your throne on high to suffer for the world and die.
Pastor: Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. In Jesus you have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.
Congregation: We have been brought from death to life. Sin shall not be our master, because we are not under law, but under grace.
Choir: Help me to change my ways, O Lord, and gladly to obey your Word, while here I live, abide with me, then take me home eternally.
Return to Liturgy, Hymnal page 156
FIRST READING: Jonah 3:1–5,10 (Sermon Text)
(The reluctant Jonah had been given the lofty charge of proclaiming a message from the LORD to the people of Nineveh.)
1Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2“Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. 10When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.
PSALM: Psalm 62 “In God Alone My Soul Can Find Rest”
SECOND READING: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21
(Christ has committed to us, as his ambassadors, the message of reconciliation.)
14For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Gospel Acclamation Psalm 22:22
Tune: © 2021 Northwestern Publishing House. Used by permission: OneLicense no. 722228
GOSPEL: Mark 1:14-20
(When Jesus gave Simon and Andrew the lofty charge of fishing for people, they left everything else behind.)
14After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” 16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18At once they left their nets and followed him. 19When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
HYMN OF THE DAY: 743 “I Hear The Savior Calling”
SERMON: Jonah 3:1-5, 10 “God Displays His Grace”
APOSTLES’ CREED: Hymnal Page 163/Screen
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH: Hymnal Page 164/Screen
INTERCESSORY PRAYERS
OFFERING & PRAYER
CLOSING HYMN: 695 “Take My Life and Let It Be”
Acknowledgments
Setting One from Christian Worship. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. Software distributed in partnership with Northwestern Publishing House. Created by Christian Worship: Service Builder © 2023 Concordia Publishing House
THEME FOR NEXT SUNDAY:
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany-
From The River to The Mountain: Absolute Authority
Saturday, January 20 Sunday, January 21 | Saturday, January 27 Sunday, January 28 |
Ben Jaster Jacob Jaster Jeff Reimer Mark Emond | Matthew Kath Glen Bubolz Martin Schmanke Mike Kempley |
EMMANUEL MEETINGS
Emmanuel Congregational Meeting Sunday, January 21 9:00am
Call Meeting: The next Pastor Call Meeting is for Sunday, January 28th at 11:15a.m. at St. John’s.
INTERCESSORY PRAYERS |
– For the sick and others facing trials, including: Chuck Boetcher, Gale “Blackie” Boyd, Bob Buehrens, Michael Cox (Marjorie Fabian’s brother), Vicki Davis (Marilyn Riemer’s sister), Edith Duesterhoeft, Ken Elmer (Sally’s husband), Earl Ewert, Judy Fandrey, John Gaedke (Dan Finger’s uncle), Donna Gatzke, Dennis Gray (Mary Dahlke’s brother), Dennis Gromowski (Josh’s father, Harvey Rudolph’s neighbor), Kelleen Grucza (Judy Fandrey’s daughter), Kim Hanko (Judy Fandrey’s daughter), Del & Jean Henke, Drake Hunter, Jerry & Darlene Hunter (Bonnie Chapman’s parents), Xzander Jahr, Kris Kemp (Diane Hintz’ daughter), Dale Kozlowski, Jeff Krueger (Diane Hintz’s son), Julie Moran, Debbie & Steve Parrish, Darlene Phillips (Ken Elmer’s mother), Melissa Prater, Karen Radke, Roxanne Schmanke, Ashley Schroeder, Eloise Schultz, Lynn Sellnow, Bob Sluga (Sherry’s husband), Annette St. Onge, Amanda Stalker, Tom Stempniak, Dominick Thoman (the father of Janessa Roberts, Harvey Rudolph’s neighbor), James & Suzanne Weber, Cheryl Wegner, Paul Weldon, Tama Zuehls (added this week: Julie Moran)
– For Rebecca Graumann called at our 1/7 SJ Voter’s meeting to serve as Little Lambs director/teacher
Dear members of St. John’s,
At our January 7th Call Meeting the voter’s assembly present cast a unanimous ballot to extend a Divine Call for our next Preschool Director/Teacher to:
Mrs. Rebecca Graumann
W5620 Buena Vista Rd.
Fort Atkinson WI 53538
Phone: 920-563-0049 (Home); 920-728-2716 (Cell)
Email: bgraumann@stpaulsfort.org
She is presently serving St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Fort Atkinson WI as Director of their Early Childhood Ministry, and is licensed for Early Childhood instruction. Please reach out to her with cards, texts, emails and pray for her as she deliberates where she can best use her gifts to promote the saving Gospel. Please keep both congregations and all of our called workers in your prayers, as we work to carry out our Gospel ministries.
PIE SALE FOR MISSIONS COMING IN FEBRUARY! Plan to purchase a delicious homemade pie on Christian Education Sunday, February 18. The ladies of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society (LWMS) will be baking pies for missions with proceeds going to their local mission working fund. $10.00 per pie.
ANNOUNCEMENTS |
This Week: January 21-27, 2024 Today 9:00 a.m. Emmanuel Congregational Meeting Monday 6:30 p.m. Adult Choir SJ 7:30 p.m. Adult Bible Study SJ Tuesday 5:30 p.m. Stewardship Meeting SJ 6:30 p.m. Worship Meeting SJ Wednesday 10:00 a.m. Montello Care Center Devotion 10:30 a.m. Adult Bible Study SJ 5:00 p.m. Public School Catechism SJ 6:30 p.m. Women’s Bible Study SJ Thursday 6:00 p.m. GriefShare Saturday 11:00 a.m. Tot Time SJ 4:30 p.m. SJ Worship |
Next Sunday: January 28, 2024 8:00 a.m. Emmanuel Worship 8:30 a.m. St. John’s Sunday School 8:45 a.m. Adult Bible Study St. John’s 10:00 a.m. St. John’s Worship 11:15 a.m. Pastor Call Meeting SJ |
Attendance Date EM SJ 1/13/24 – 8 1/14/24 37 52 |
REMINDER: PLEASE, NO PARKING ALONG SIDE
OF THE BUILDING IN THE PARKING LOT
(HANDICAPPED SPOTS) ON SCHOOL DAYS.
THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO
WORSHIP SERVICES OR FUNERALS.
St. John’s Lenten Suppers: There is a sign-up sheet in the Linkway if your group wishes to host a Lenten Supper. There are still a few dates available. Thank You!
ACH Deposits* | Plate Offerings | Total Dec. Offerings | Budget Needs | December Expenses | Year to Date Offerings | Year to Date Expenses |
$5342.83 | $26758.83 | $32101.66 | $33939.58 | $24122.18 | $140791.92 | $119153.41 |
*ACH Deposits are the offerings made online or via direct withdrawal.
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7
Attention ladies- SAVE THE DATE!
Lent by Candlelight- Sunday, February 11 4:00pm
Are you interested in helping at, planning, or hosting Lent by Candlelight?
Christa Van Treeeck would LOVE to hear from you. 608.697.5434 or christavantreeck@gmail.com
CALA VAN: For the past two years, we have been transporting Princeton CALA students to the Montello campus with a van that was graciously donated to the school. This past year, the van has been full on most days. This is a good problem to have! However, to ensure that everyone who needs a ride may get one next year, we are looking to purchase a new van for CALA. A Ford Transit cargo van has been suggested. If you have a lead on a safe and reliable vehicle that fits this description, please call the school office (920-481-9002) or talk to Pastor or Mr. Sellnow.