November 21-22, 2020

The Bible teaches that along with the bread and wine of Holy Communion we also receive the true body and blood of our Savior. Jesus’ own words, “this is my body” and “this is my blood for the forgiveness of sins” reveal His Real Presence in the sacrament (Luke 22, I Cor. 10:15-16). The Bible also teaches (1 Cor. 11:23-32) the Lord’s Supper, properly received brings great blessings, but improperly received without understanding can actually incur God’s judgment. If you are a baptized Christian who has been instructed in the Biblical teaching of communion, please feel free to commune today. However, if you have any questions, please first speak to a pastor.

NEW TESTAMENT READING: 1 Corinthians 19:24-25 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

46-Matthew 25: 31 READING: ELGOSP “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE LORD’S SUPPER

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Week of November 22, 2020

THIS WEEKEND: If you’ve ever competed in any kind of event from childhood on, you are familiar with the words, along with the tension-filled excitement that would build with each one: Ready. Set. Go! These words always prepared you to perform at your best with a deep longing and desire to win! Likewise the Apostle Paul reminds you today that your life in Jesus is also a race worthy of your attention. “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25) Today culminates this three-week series focus on Jesus’ eminent return in glory. THIS WEEK: THANKSGIVING WORSHIP Bring your family, friends and neighbors and join us as we gather in thankful celebration and worship on Thanksgiving Eve, Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 7:00 PM in the sanctuary. This special family worship service is a wonderful opportunity to give thanks for all that the Lord has done! NEXT WEEKEND: Be watching for more information this week as we begin the Advent/Christmas season this coming weekend.

HOLY BAPTISM – This weekend at the 9:30 AM Traditional Praise service, we celebrate the baptism of Karina Evelyn Novack, daughter of Adam & Tina Novack. May God richly bless Karina and her family!

THE WEEKLY CONNECTION ONE IN JESUS…REACHING MANY!

WORSHIP CELEBRATION

OUR FULL WORSHIP SCHEDULE continues with many options, both onsite and online. We invite you to find the option that works best for your family in these days and join in worshipping and growing closer to your Savior Jesus.

MODERN PRAISE (gymnasium) Onsite: Saturday @ 5:00PM | Sunday @ 10:45AM

Online: Facebook Live @ 10:45AM. A recording of this service will also be added to the Online Worship Resources page as soon as available.

TRADITIONAL PRAISE (sanctuary) Onsite: Sunday @ 8:00AM | 9:30AM | 11:00AM

Online: Facebook Live @ 8:00AM. A recording of this service will also be added to the Online Worship Resources page as soon as available.

THREE WEEK PAUSE ORDER As many of you are aware, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has issued an epidemic order calling for a 'Three Week Pause' from November 18 to December 8, 2020 in the wake of widespread COVID-19 infection rates. We have carefully reviewed this order to determine next steps in regard to our on-campus church and school ministries. In keeping with this order, we are thankful that our Preschool, Day School and Care Room programs are able to remain open and worship can continue with full safeguards in place. However, during the coming weeks, all extra-curricular activities along with all other on-campus meetings, Bible studies, and events through December 8 have been temporarily suspended or moved online. Group leaders will provide any additional specific information or plans to their group. Updates about resuming activities will be shared as December 8 approaches or as new information is available.

SUNDAY MORNING ADULT BIBLE CLASS has been temporarily suspended.

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS MAGAZINE - Now is the time to order or renew your subscription of THE LUTHERAN WITNESS for 2021! The Lutheran Witness is the official periodical of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and is published 11 times a year. It provides stories and information that complement congregational life, foster personal growth in faith, and help interpret the contemporary world from a Lutheran Christian perspective. It also includes the Michigan in Touch supplement. The new subscription year begins March 2021 and orders need to be turned in to the Pastoral Office by Monday, December 7 to take advantage of a discounted rate of $11.60/year. Checks should be made to “St. John Lutheran Church” with “Lutheran Witness” written on the memo line. Please contact the Pastoral Office at 248-402-8020 or church@stjohnrochester.org for more information.

BIBLICAL DISCOVERY

SHARED LIFE

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY! Praise the Lord for new members of our St. John family! Pictured are just some of those who, having completed our 8-week ONE Class most recently offered online via ZOOM, were officially welcomed last weekend in worship! We are beyond thankful for these amazing people (25 families, 42 adults, 23 children) and all that is ahead as we continue to grow and serve together in Jesus’ name!

STEPHEN MINISTRY – Are you walking through a desert time of life? Divorce, grief, job loss...There are fellow believers who want to come alongside you, to listen, be present and pray with you. You don’t have to journey through this difficult time alone. Stephen Ministers are trained to come alongside hurting people. If you are interested in having a Stephen Minister, please contact Tom Rowe at 248-420-1248 or Catherine Lick at 586-337-0023.

GRIEFSHARE – If you are mourning the death of a loved one, we invite you to join with others who understand and care. You do not have to take this journey alone. GriefShare is a Bible based support group offering videos, workbooks and discussion. While we are not currently meeting together on the St. John campus, we do want you to be aware of the resources available to all at www.GriefShare.org. You may want to set up a login to take full advantage of all that this free

website has to offer. Daily emails are available to support the grieving process, along with other valuable information. As always, St. John GriefShare leaders are also available for one-on-one support. Please call Linda Baroli 248-895-0310, Joanne Curran 248-877-7309, or Marlene Leinberger 586-365-8870.

FRESH HOLIDAY EVERGREENS – We want to thank you for supporting our St. John American Heritage Girls in the past and for participating now in our 2020 holiday fundraiser. Help us reach our goal this year so we can go to camp in the spring. We will be selling fresh holiday evergreens such as wreaths, centerpieces and small trees. Start your holiday shopping early by visiting the website GiftitForward.com and enter in the fundraising code AMERICMI001. Gifts will be shipped directly to the recipient via FedEx. Thank you!

ST. JOHN LUTHERAN SCHOOL NEWS With the state’s current ‘Three Week Pause’, we give thanks that our Preschool, School and Care Rooms are able to remain open! What a blessing to continue to share the Good News of Jesus with our students and families. Extra-curricular activities are not being held during this timeframe. Happy Thanksgiving from our students! Our November character development word of the month is Gratitude. Students are sharing ways they can be kind, and thinking of things for which they are thankful. We are currently enrolling for in-person instruction for the 2020-21 school year, for Preschool 3’s, 4’s and Young 5’s sessions as well as 6th grade. Open Enrollment for 2021-22 begins on February 1, 2021. For more information about enrollment, visit stjohnrochester.org/school.

SUNDAY SCHOOL: This year, Sunday School is bring provided as an online weekly video. For more information contact Steve Wilson, Child & Family Ministry Director, swilson@stjohnrochester.org. MIDDLE SCHOOL YOUTH will not be held during the Three-Week Pause timeframe. Updates will be provided as December 8 approaches. For more information contact Steve Wilson, Child & Family Ministry Director, swilson@stjohnrochester.org.

CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES

HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH Students, you have been given gallons of lemonade!! We are so proud of how you our youth have responded with positive attitudes during this time of restrictions. It is not easy for you, or for your parents and siblings. Please continue to thank our frontline workers for their faith, which they share with their patients. This timeframe will pass....eventually. For now, we will not be meeting in person until the gathering restrictions are lifted. Also, the Snow Globe dance scheduled for December 13 has been cancelled. Look for information about a dance to be held in the future! This Sunday (today), we will host a Thanksgiving Zoom Call from 7:00 – 8:00 PM. Make sure you have some type of Thanksgiving Prop; draw a picture, pull your

turkey out of the fridge and have it in sight, get some dried corn....whatever says Thanksgiving to you! For the Zoom invitation details, please email Melissa Hammett, Director of High School Youth Ministry, mhammett@stjohnrochester.org.

The St. John Church & School Foundation endowment was established in 1987 to support the mission and ministry of St. John. With just under $2 million in investments, donations received by the Foundation are invested to preserve the principal, and a portion of the returns are allocated each year

to support the Church and School through grants. As the Foundation’s assets grow, their ability to enhance the mission and ministry of St. John increases. Watch for a mailing coming your way soon with more details about the different funds and what initiatives they support as well as opportunity to partner financially.

GIFTS FOR ALL GOD’S CHILDREN – We are once again partnering with GFAGC to supply Christmas gifts for at-risk children in local urban areas. Here are the ways you can support this mission partner:

• Sponsor a child: Purchase 5 gifts from this child’s list of needed items and bring to St. John by Sunday, Dec. 6.

SACRIFICIAL GENEROSITY

• Donate a single gift: Purchase an item from a list of items needed by GFAGC workshop and bring to St. John by Sunday, Dec. 6.

• Make a financial donation to the GFAGC organization: Any amount is appreciated.

Visit our website at stjohnrochester.org or look for the email message that was sent this week with details on how to get a child’s tag, a list of needed items and how to make a donation. Gifts can be dropped off at worship services December 5 & 6 or dropped off in the outside collection bin Wednesday, Dec. 2 – Friday, Dec. 4 from 10AM-2PM. If you need more information, contact Lynette Novack at 248-402-8020 or lnovack@stjohnrochester.org. Thank you!

NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR FOOD DRIVE – Help bless those in our community by joining in our Neighbor to Neighbor Food Drive to benefit struggling families in our community. Grocery bags with an attached shopping list are available in the South Church Lobby and at the Main Office or visit www.stjohnrochester.org/neighbor-to-neighbor-food-drive. Pick and choose which items on the list you’ll buy, and in what

quantity. All of it will be a blessing! Grocery drop-off is available during all weekend worship hours, at the South Church entrance, ending this Sunday, November 22 (TODAY). The collected food items will be delivered to Rochester Area Neighborhood House and God’s Helping Hands. Last year our St. John family stepped up in a big way, blessing local families with over 7000 pounds of food! We look forward to seeing what God will do through His people’s loving generosity this year! Thank you for blessing our community with such impact and letting your light shine.

ONE LEGACY UPDATEHopefully you’ve had a chance to do a full drive around on our campus in recent days! After a very long year+ of ongoing construction, very extensive underground

infrastructure improvements, parking and playground expansion, many months of disappointing delays, and WAY TOO MUCH DIRT AND DUST, finally in recent weeks most Phase 1 work has been nearing completion! While the next expansion phase of our long-range Campus Master Plan is currently on temporary hold in the midst of pandemic reality as previously communicated,

we believe the Lord has blessed us with a divine opportunity to catch our breath and keep paying off/down what we have already accomplished. Simultaneously we must continue to prayerfully seek His will and timing on next steps as ministry continues to unfold in exciting ways even through these uncertain times. FINANCIAL UPDATE

ONE LEGACY INITIATIVEThe final stretch of the three-year pledge period was set to conclude this month, however we have extended it through to this coming February 21—in alignment with the culmination of our 100th

anniversary year. All to say, now is the time! Please continue to pray for the Lord’s leading in all of this as we seek to be wise and responsible with the financial blessings of God and respond boldly as ONE, in an ongoing legacy of faith to finish our current capital initiative strong as we build spiritual foundations for the future. Watch your mailbox for more information on important next steps.

ONE LEGACY INITIATIVE As of 11/8/20 Amount pledged……………………......$3,526,723.00 As of 11/8/20 Amount received………………………..$2,707,027.91 GENERAL MISSION & MINISTRY OFFERINGS Offerings for week ending November 8………..…........$24,263.00

As of 11/8/20 Y.T.D. Budgeted Offerings: $ 873,800.00 As of 11/8/20 Y.T.D. Actual Offerings: $ 868,449.63 As of 11/8/20 Y.T.D. Variance to Budget: $ (5,350.37)

(St. John’s fiscal year is 7/1/20 through 6/30/21.)

Budget to Actual (Week of November 8) = 52.1% Year-to-Date Offering Budget to Actual = 99.4%

As in all things we need to continue praying, “Lord, what would you have us do” and “cheerfully” respond. (2 Corinthians 9:6-7) Thank you beyond words for doing so in amazing ways, St. John family! PLEASE KEEP RESPONDING WITH YOUR GIFTS! Your continued financial support and partnership is critically needed and appreciated now more than ever in the present new reality we all face together. The opportunities to share the eternal love of Jesus through ongoing ministry within our community are only increasing in these days. We know times are difficult for many, but if you are prayerfully able to step forward for those who can't, please do so.

There are 3 simple ways to continue giving to the Lord's ongoing work through the ministry of St. John Lutheran Church & School. • Give through your bank. • Give with your St. John offering envelope. • Give electronically. • For details and further information on the various ways to give, visit our website at

https://www.stjohnrochester.org/celebrate/giving-options/.

OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE – The St. John Tech Team is looking for individuals that would like to help serve on the Tech Teams during church services. No experience is necessary and it’s really easy to get started with some training. You can help with one service, one Sunday a month, or more often if you like. Help is needed in both Traditional and Modern Praise. If you have an interest or would like more information, please email Tim Grothaus at tgrothaus@stjohnrochester.org. OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE A MISSION PARTNER - St. John is blessed to partner with Family of God in Detroit, as we whole-heartedly support them in being a light of hope during what may appear to be days of hopelessness to many. Family of God has increased their street ministry and feeding programs, and St. John is the conduit helping them to do so. On the first Sunday of each month, faithful volunteers prepare a meal for those who come to Family of God to be fed. St. John has also taken on the third Sunday of each month to supply 60 bagged lunches for Family of God’s thriving street ministry. This is a great opportunity for those who want to serve. You can serve by donating bread, lunchmeat, fruit, chips, water, or anything that you would like in a sack lunch. If this is a ministry opportunity of interest to you, please contact Darlene Fuery at 248-310-1383 or dfuery@gmail.com and help to bless the spiritually and physically hungry. CROSSROADS CARE CENTER is adding another service for the community. The BLOSSM Group (Baby Loss Supporting Mothers Group) is for those who have experienced the loss of a baby during pregnancy whether from miscarriage, stillbirth or infant loss. There is no timeline for grief so if you are in need of support, we're here to help. Please contact Crossroads at 248-293-0070 if you are planning to join us or for more information. COVID-19 guidelines will be followed. Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."

WE WOULD LOVE TO PRAY FOR WHATEVER IS ON YOUR HEART. To submit a prayer request, please text or email it to prayer@stjohnrochester.org at any time or click on one of the prayer request links on our Online Worship Resources webpage. These requests are received by our pastors and are passed along when requested to be included in the weekly prayer list that is sent out to our prayer warriors and included in weekend worship.

THIS WEEK: Thanksgiving: Marriage of Holly Gilbert & Caleb Whetstone / Baptism of Karina Evelyn Novack - daughter of Adam & Tina Novack / Penelope Waller’s 7th Birthday Healing & Peace: Vernette Wendler – hospice / Roy Kaiser – hospice Bereavement: – “for the family & friends of:” Ed Ingalls Community – Nation – World: For all health care workers providing care during the pandemic resurgence

COMPASSIONATE SERVICE

CONSTANT PRAYER

LAST WEEK: Thanksgiving: Jerry and Mary Bantin’s 65th wedding anniversary Healing & Peace: Tom Chmiel having eye surgery / Bill Hammond – hospitalized / Persa (mother of Veronica Miklja) – aggressive cancer / Sandy Olson – recovering from surgery / Vernette Wendler – hospice / Roy Kaiser – hospice / Carol Johnston – upcoming surgery / Chris Madigan - upcoming surgery / Suzanne Gorentz – good test results / Herman Luitink (brother of Marie Schwartz) – COVID / Debra Jankovich (daughter of Marie Schwartz) – COVID / Kai (premature baby) – NICU from traumatic birth Bereavement: – “for the family & friends of:” Judi Luitink (sister-in-law of Marie Schwartz) Community – Nation – World: Continued thanksgiving for our Armed Service Veterans

PRIOR WEEK: Thanksgiving: Birth of Avery Longo to Vince and Alyssa Longo (granddaughter of Dan and Cathy Beck) / Baptism of Amelia Carmen Kidder - daughter of Zach and Abby Kidder / Laura & Scott Mattox – 33rd Wedding Anniversary Healing & Peace: Brad Hehl – recovering from surgery / Corinthia Webster (Granddaughter of Dale & Susan McGorman) – COVID / Holly Reese - cancer Bereavement: – “for the family & friends of:” Sara Standfest (premature infant granddaughter of Lynn & Bob) / Paul Stenborg Community – Nation – World: Healing for recent COVID infections / Thanksgiving for the freedom to vote in an election and for all elected leaders

OFFICE HOURS THIS WEEK Monday - Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM Thursday – Friday: CLOSED

Sunday 8:00 AM Traditional Praise Worship – Church Sanctuary 9:30 AM Traditional Praise Worship – Church Sanctuary 10:45 AM Modern Praise Worship – Gymnasium 11:00 AM Traditional Praise Worship – Church Sanctuary

Monday

Tuesday Wednesday No School 7:00 PM Thanksgiving Worship – Church Sanctuary

Thursday No School

Friday No School

Saturday 5:00 PM Modern Praise Worship – Gymnasium

THIS WEEK AT ST. JOHN

Weekend Worship Celebration Schedule

Traditional Praise: Sundays @ 8:00 AM (ALSO LIVE STREAMED AND POSTED ONLINE), 9:30 AM & 11:00 AM

Modern Praise: Saturdays @ 5:00 PM | Sundays @ 10:45 AM (ALSO LIVE STREAMED AND POSTED ONLINE)

1011 W. University Dr. | Rochester, MI 48307 | 248.402.8000 | stjohnrochester.org