St. John's Lutheran Church
Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning. It is the lifting of a burden or the canceling of a debt.
—Martin Luther King Jr.
Men’s Prayer Breakfast
May 10th, 2025
The men of St. John’s will be meeting Saturday morning for breakfast and study at 8:00 a.m.
Following the meal will be a brief program concluding by 9:00 a.m.
Women's Bible Study . . .
. . . will return on Thursday, May 8th at noon. Any questions, please contact Rose Montgomery at rosetrix38@comcast.net. All are welcome!
Rock of our Salvation Worship
8:30 a.m.
Sunday, May 25th
Love makes us worthy
Unlike God, who loves unconditionally, humans often make choices and set limits when doling out affection. But Thomas Merton reminds us, “Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.”
I write this the day after Easter. I am still glowing from worship. Lutherans know how to worship!
We enter into God’s house. We sit down. We look to the left and to the right—surrounded by sinners. God’s house is the place where the Great Physician comes to meet the sick. We are a hospital for sinners.
Jesus Himself comes to bring the cure from the “sickness unto death—” the forgiveness of sin. We respond to this gift by singing the first hymn—offering our worship through singing.
We stand and sit and worship with our whole body. The quip is true: Lutheran Calisthenics up/down/up/down is not because we need the exercise but because worship is not a show, something that we watch as the real action takes place up front, but because we are the actors in worship. We sing, we stand, we sit worshipping. Liturgy means, “Work of the people.”
Take for example the Kyrie. The cantor bids: “in peace, let us pray to the Lord.” We respond “Lord have mercy” as we are praying to God for peace, for each other, for the world. The body of Christ gathers to pray.
In Holy Communion Jesus comes to eat and drink with sinners. He feeds us with His precious body and blood that we might become the body of Christ for the world. We are strengthened to go and spread the Good News that because Jesus lives, we shall live too. Because Jesus lives, sin, death and the devil do not have the final word.
Worship is saying “thank you.” Our God gives us all we have and all we need. Sunday morning is a time when we come to worship God to say, “Thank you!” This month is filled with thank yous. Thank God for our mothers. Thank God for our veterans and their sacrifice. Thank God for His abundant blessings as we return a proportion of what we have first received in praise and thanksgiving for what He has first given us.
See you in Worship,
Pastor Johnson
