Welcome to St. John Lutheran Church-LCMC

Greetings to you in the name of Christ! Summer is upon us and so are all of the joys of summer and all of the activities that pull on our time. I pray that you have an enjoyable and fun summer. As you are enjoying all of the activities and time outdoors, I would like to encourage you to take time to worship our God who is the giver of all things. I love how Martin Luther reminds us in the Meaning of the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed that everything we have and are a gift from our God and so it is our duty to do four things. Do you recall what these are? Martin Luther said, “All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank, praise, serve and obey Him.” These four things are central to what we do in worship. First and foremost, we gather to hear God’s Word of love and forgiveness for us. We also thank, praise, serve, and obey Him as we worship through our confessions, through our songs, through our offering. Worship is a time to hear and interact in a special way with our Heavenly Father and other brothers and sisters in Christ. This summer, I encourage you not to forget about worship but to be like David when he said, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’” (Psalm 122:1 NIV)

It is interesting to think about all that pulls on our time, our talents, and our treasures. One of the churches that I served went through a Strategic Planning process, they developed a list of threats to their ministry and their work together. This list included such things as: community sports programs, no “sacred” church time, other growing churches, competing secular priorities, apathy, laziness, very full schedules, not a churched society anymore, many people who call themselves “Christians” don’t feel a need to affiliate with

a church, people’s lack of conviction, a society with no absolutes, media shaping our morality,

and a breakdown of family relationships.

These threats are not simply true for that church, but for all churches. I think it is good for

families to talk about why they do what they do. Why do we worship and why should we

worship every Sunday? The answer is Jesus and all He has done for us! Yes, we are called to remember the Sabbath Day. We are called to hear, learn, and meditate on God’s Word. In

our catechism, we are encouraged by a question that asks, “What do the Scriptures teach about our life in the church?” The answer states, “They teach that A. we should seek always to be

and remain members of the invisible church, Christ’s body, by sincere faith in Christ, our Savior;

B.  we should be faithful to that visible church, or denomination, which professes and teaches all of the Bible’s doctrine purely and administers the sacraments according to Christ’s institution;

C. we should avoid false teachers, false churches, and all organizations that promote a religion that is contrary to God’s Word; D. we should maintain and extend God’s church by telling others about Jesus Christ, by personal service, and by prayer and financial support.” (--LSC Q. 179) Consider the many Bible passages listed in the answer to this question, like John 15:5; Acts 2:42; John 8:31 -32; 2 Timothy 4:3; Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 2:9 and 1 Peter 3:15. My prayer is that God would so motivate and encourage us to be mightily about His work in this corner of His kingdom. God’s blessings to you as you worship and as you enjoy this summer of fun. I look forward to seeing you in your Father’s house each week!

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Jeffrey Geske

St. John Lutheran Thrall Tx  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi4zvwH1MeCgONC8AUbqxIA

St. John Lutheran Church Thrall Tx

Our Sunday  school would love to have you

 and your child or grandchild

to be a part of learning more about the 

love and forgiveness of Jesus.

Please  make  the  study  of  God’s  Word  

a  priority  for  you  and  your

family. A church that is growing is a church that is in God’s Word.