August 2010 Newsletter
Dear Friends,
Have you ever counted the number of messages that you hear over the course of the day? Phone messages, e-mail,
text messages, and good-old-fashioned mail are just a few messages you received. Add up all the TV and radio
commercials, billboards, pop-up ads on the Internet, tweets, status updates, etc. and you get a truly staggering
number of messages that are specifically aimed at you, to get you to change some aspect of your behavior. And on
top of that, every movie, TV show, song, news story, book or conversation also has a message that is being conveyed.
Some of these messages are good and necessary; the message that the weatherman on the evening news is trying to
communicate is a message that can be enormously helpful when we are planning the next day’s activities. Other messages
can be hugely destructive; for instance, the government bans certain types of cigarette advertisements because they appeal
mostly to young teenagers, which is a group we really DON’T want to start smoking. And some messages are harder to figure
out; the recent Twilight and Harry Potter books and movies have no end of people arguing for or against the messages they
believe are being communicated through those stories. Messages, good and bad, are everywhere around us.
Now, compare the number of those messages you receive over the course of the day to the number of times you hear The Message about
Jesus Christ. I’m guessing that there is a large discrepancy. Many people only hear The Message once a week, for about a hour. Some
over-achievers might actually spend a few moments every day, maybe even up to half an hour. But even an hour every day spent in
God’s word doesn’t compare to the volume of other messages we hear every day.
Our youth just returned from the LCMS National Youth Gathering, where they spent a whole week focusing on this one verse, “But
these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His
name” (John 20:31).
This verse reminds us that the Bible is not just another dusty, dry, pointless collection of irrelevant myths and fairy tales, but
rather that it is a book with a point. And that point is to bring to us the knowledge of salvation that comes from Jesus. Nowhere
else will we find out about a God that loves us so much that He didn’t wait for us to straighten ourselves out, but instead took
the initiative to fix our problem with sin before we even realized we had a problem. Nowhere else in the world will we find out about
what true love looks like; the complete sacrifice of personal comfort and gain for the complete benefit of someone else. Nowhere else
will we find out about a God who is Love.
Whatever time we spend it God’s Word will be effective and powerful time, because every moment will be filled with the Holy Spirit
working on our hearts to tell us the truth about our lives. He will help us see the truth or the lie behind every message in the world,
and will strengthen us in the knowledge of the truth. He will convince us time and time again that we are loved by God, despite the sin
we see in ourselves.
Our kids had an amazing week. As we spent time every night talking about the events of the day, the all reflected on how they had a new
perspective on things as a result of their exposure to God’s Word through the Gathering. If you get a chance, ask Ashley, Katie, Alex,
Tiffany, Hannah or Josh about the events of the week (but be prepared for a long conversation). And with them, turn regularly back to
The Message of Jesus Christ so that we can better cope with the other millions of messages our world sends us every day.
In Christ,
Pastor Curt
Simple Volunteering
(Personal observations and thoughts taken from an article by Karen Kogler in the LWML Summer 2010 Quarterly)
A simple life would be wonderful though few of us have that life. More than likely yours like mine consists of too many things to get
done and too little time to do them. We come to church where we are fed and nourished by the One who invites all who labor and are heavy
laden to come to Him and receive rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28-29). As we read our church bulletins there are always requests for
volunteers for some worthy project or to help someone in need. Despite our promise to ourselves to cut back on so many commitments, we
love our Lord and love our community, so we sign up for yet one more commitment. You know God wants us all to serve, and we see so many
needs at church, with our children and grandchildren at school, and in our community. Its no wonder we get so overwhelmed with wanting
to help in so many places. As I have been told many times “You can’t do everything and You can’t save everyone!”, but its hard not to try.
God wants us to volunteer but not in ways that are detrimental to our spiritual, mental, and physical health. Each one should use whatever gift
he has received to serve others (1 Peter 4:10). Volunteer using the God given talents that you have been blessed with and do the things that you
enjoy. You will be helping those in need and also giving yourself a lift in the process. Sometimes there are things that we volunteer for that just need
to be done, but if you keep the bulk of your volunteer work in those areas where you find joy in the task, everyone will benefit and God will be most
pleased. I know you’ve heard the phrase “God loves a cheerful giver”, God also loves to see His servants find true joy in their work in His name.
Submitted by Tammy Christian
New Adult Information Class
Pastor Curt will be starting a new adult information class on August 16, at 6:30PM. If you would like to attend the
class or for more information contact Pastor Curt. If for some reason this day & time is not good for you, see Pastor Curt about adjusting the schedule.
LLL
LLL had a regular meeting on July 11th. James Compton and Jerry Scheer had topic & devotion. We discussed and agreed to
fund a Community Health Fair in conjunction with the October Senior Meal. We discussed and set a date of August 7th for a trip to the lake reserving
a pavilion at Canfield. We will have a devotion on Saturday at the pavilion and those who would like will attend church as a group at Mountain Home
on Sunday morning. A trip to see a show in Branson on the 4th of December was also set. Ticket information will be discussed at the September meeting.
Childrens Church
Thank you to all who continue to help with Children’s Church. Although our numbers are smaller in the summer, our
ministry is no less important! If you would like to help with Children’s Church but are not on a team, let me know.
Sr. Youth
The Sr. Youth returned last Thursday afternoon after a week in New Orleans. They will have many great stories
to tell. Ask them about their trip! They are planning a Thank You Night soon. Look for date & time in upcoming bulletins.
Seniors Lunch
Lunch will be Wednesday August 18, at 11:30AM. . We will have: Salmon Patties, Pan Grilled Chicken,
Roasted Potatoes, Vegetables, Rolls, and Dessert. As always there will be diabetic dessert available.
Invite Your Friends & Neighbors!!! We will have a program from AMH on Heart Health and will have door prizes.
LWML
LWML held its July meeting on the 7th at 7:00PM. We heard reports on the District Convention
in Hot Springs, talked about VBS and Sonshine Station and set a date of August 22nd for a Wedding Shower for Angela Byrd.
We discussed selling the refrigerator in the basement by sealed bid to be opened at the July Voter’s meeting on the 25th.
We discussed changing the hostess position to include a finger food or dessert & drink instead of such a large amount of
food and having our food with the meeting instead of after. All agreed. We meet this month on the 4th at 7:00PM.
Serving in August
Head Usher: Nathan Compton
Elder: Steve Morrison
Acolyte: Ian Dwyer
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Justin Pillow 8/1
Randy Hedge 8/4
Tom Franzen 8/4
Pastor Curt Dwyer 8/4
Benny Lueker 8/6
Jerry Scheer 8/6
Donna Tritch 8/6
Cheryl Morrison 8/7
Terry Willis 8/10
Joan Mask 8/12
Cody Mask 8/13
Pauline Tritch 8/14
Brian Brightwell 8/15
Mildred Scheer 8/16
Carla Eaton 8/16
Katelin Reese 8/17
Madison Gage 8/17
KatieChristian 8/19
Melissa Defries 8/20
Tyler Henson 8/20
Mark Willis 8/20
Bill Willis 8/20
Becca Martin 8/21
Chris Bolick 8/23
Tonya Damron 8/24
Dana Green 8/25
Belle Brasher 8/26
Larry Griggs 8/26
Abigail Newton 8/26
David Lange 8/28
Daniel Wdae 8/28
Stacy Tritch 8/28
Gay Thomas 8/30
Kerry Reddick 8/31
Alex Ryan 8/31
Pastor Curt & Renee Dwyer 8/15
Lyndel & Virginia Scheer 8/16
Ray & Jeanne Gibson 8/20
Matt & Tiffany Gage 8/25
Mike & Norma DaVault 8/28
Office Hours
Pastor Curt and Tammy will be in the church office each week during the
following hours:
Pastor Curt
Monday through Thursday 8:00 11:30 AM
Other times by appointment or happy coincidence. Hours may vary slightly
due to pastoral necessity.
Tammy
Monday 11:00 AM 5:00 PM
Wednesday 10:30 AM 2:30 PM
Thursday 8:00 AM 10:00 AM ; 2:00 PM 5:00 PM
Office Deadlines
Items for bulletin Thursday
Items for newsletter 20th of month
Prayer requests (printed) Thursday
Prayer requests anytime
E-mail
Website: www.stjohnslafe.org
Tammy: secretary@stjohnslafe.org
Tessa: dce@stjohnslafe.org
Pastor Curt: pastor@stjohnslafe.org
Phone Numbers
Church: 586-0319
Pastor cell: 450-1199
Pastor Home: 215-0812