| The Messenger
________________________________________Volume 14 Issue 6 June 2011
Is God Up There?
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
“God, if you are up there, please show yourself to me.” Have you ever said that to God? Wouldn’t it be great if God just came down and showed himself to us?
God does show himself. In the first line of the Bible, God reveals himself to us. He tells us that he made all things. He made the huge galaxies of the universe. He made the tiniest atoms. He made you and me. His creation demonstrates his power, creativity, wisdom, and tender concern for us.
Take time to notice and to marvel at all God made—the colors of the sky, the light of the sun and stars, the mosaic of leaves outside your window, the beauty of the landscape within your view. Consider how God made you. Think of how your body works—your eyes and ears, your arms, legs, fingers and toes, your brain.
However, God did not make the world and then stand back as a disinterested observer far removed from it all. He is “up there” watching over it all. He continues to care for us by providing for all our needs.
Sadly, we often don’t thank him for what he has done for us. We forget him. For that, God has every right to turn his back on us. Amazingly, he still cares for us. More than that, he came down to us and saved us from our wayward ways. He came down in love in the person of his Son, Jesus, and rescued us. Jesus lived the perfect life of thanks that we should live. On the cross, he died the death we should die for our sins. He promises a new and perfect world where all who believe in him will live forever in perfect joy.
Is God up there? Yes he is! God is not only up there, he is in every inch of his creation. He is closer to you than your own skin. Does God love and care for his creation? Oh, how he cares! He sent his Son, Jesus, and rescued the world he has made. Look at God’s creation, and above all, look to Jesus and know that God is “up there” loving and caring for you.
Adult Spiritual Growth
Sunday Morning Bible Study: Immediately following Sunday worship, everyone is invited to remain for a Bible Study called “Islam: Quran vs. Holy Scripture”. The religion of Islam is on everyone’s mind these days. What is it? What is its history? Come and explore with us the truths Muslims believe and find out the differences between our two religious.
Wednesday Morning Bible Study takes place at 9:30 a.m. We are taking a look at various narrative sections in the Book of Numbers. Because of the nature of this book, we are doing a chapter by chapter overview so the class covers a large amount of material at a time. Feel free to join at any time.
If you have any topics or issues for discussion that you would like addressed in future Bible Studies, please feel free to write them down and give them to pastor.
Sunday School News
Special thanks to all the teachers and helpers connected with this year’s Sunday School: David Pollesch, Stanley Henke, Kim Burk, Amy Badtke, Tricia Stellmacher, Amy Pamenter, Sharon Lieske, Kristine Jobs and Pastor Jobs. Our Sunday School could not function properly without the efforts and dedication of its staff.
Special thanks also to the children of St. John’s who made this a wonderful year of studying God’s Word. Your attendance and work is greatly appreciated by Pastor and the Sunday School staff. We’ll be looking forward to seeing you in the fall.
Attention Parents: We have information about Lutheran youth summer camp opportunities at both Camp Bird and Camp Phillip. Please talk to Pastor for more information.
Congratulations
Class of 2011
Adam Burk graduated from the Farm Technology program at Fox Valley Technical College.
Kim Burk graduated from Marion College with a Bachelors of Science majoring in Elementary Education with Math and Social studies minor.
Alex Dallman graduated from Markesan High School.
Amaris Heine graduated from Markesan High School.
Amaris Lieske graduated from UW-Eau Claire with degrees in math and physics.
Allayna Newlin graduated from Markesan High School.
Ryan Pollesch graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran College with a Business Administration degree.
Jared Sasada graduated from Carroll University with a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Elementary Education with a Mathematics minor.
Kaylin Werth graduated from UW-Stevens Point. Kaylin will be working this summer at Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska.
May Thank You’s
Thank you to Zack Leedle and Corey Schwandt and all Pioneers for their work at this year’s Pioneer Campout. We also thank Mark, Joan, Ben and Brad Stefan of the Grand Valley Campground for donating our campsite and providing superb care for the Pioneers. We had a wonderful time at the campground. Your efforts were really appreciated.
Thank you to David Beske, Roger Damerow, Russ Dallman and Pastor for moving all the furniture out of the church basement in preparation for the new floor.
Thank You to all of our many volunteers, including: office helpers, newsletter helpers, DVD carriers, those who clean, the money counters, and all who so faithfully serve our congregation.
Custodian Job Available Again
Are you looking for extra income? We are looking for someone to clean the church. This can be anyone or a couple of people, college age or older. For more details contact:
Duane Hilke (920) 346-8490
David Beske (920) 229-9826
News From the Halls of Winnebago Lutheran Academy
Our 2010-2011 School Theme Is:
“Commit to the LORD whatever you do.” (Proverbs 16:3a)
End of the Year Clean Up Day
WLA clean-up day is just around the corner. June 2nd 8:00-Noon. On this day a concerted effort is made to help our maintenance staff get a jump on the summer cleaning schedule. Cleaning locker room lockers, wiping down walls and windows, and vacuuming lockers are all part of the activities that will need to be done. Take the time and opportunity to join us.
Address Changes & Mailings
A reminder to anyone on St. John’s mailing list. If there is an address change in your household please call or email to let us know.
Church Office: 398-2928
stjohnsmarkesan@centurytel.net
Keep in touch!
Church Office Hours
The office is open the following times:
Monday: 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Tuesday: 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Thursday: 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Labels for Education
Peace Lutheran School continues to collect labels and caps for redemption on items that can be used at school. A brief review is listed below of items that are collected and can be put in the box located in the church entrance above the coat hangers.
UPC bar codes from Campbell’s, SpaghettiiO’s, V-8, Prego, Pepperidge Farms & more (you no longer need the full label, just the UPC). Milk Caps from Kemps, Morning Glory & Kwik Trip. Box Tops from Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, General Mills, Ziploc, Kleenex, Hefty & more. They also collect used ink cartridges.
All these things can be put in the box together, someone else will separate and distribute them to school. Examples are attached to the front of the box. Any questions, feel free to contact Amy Badtke, especially if you aren’t sure what is accepted or not. Thank you for your support. Every little bit helps.
PEACE SCHOOL SCRIP
Forms for Peace Scrip are available in the narthex. You can order several gift cards for use at the local grocery stores, Wal-Mart, McDonalds, etc. Even for your personal use, these cards benefit Peace Lutheran School. An example would be a $50 gift card to be used at Ted’s, 3% of that card goes back to the school. A $50 gift card to Fleet Farm would have 5% go back to the school. Money from the Scrip program helps pay for things such as postage, internet, and just recently, the new web page. Forms are located in the back of church, and if ordered on Sunday, you should have your cards the following week. Orders should be filled out and payment given to Pastor Jobs or DuWayne & Amy Badtke. Gifts cards are always used for gifts, why not get something useful in return. Any questions feel free to contact Amy Badtke.
All the children of our congregation and their friends are invited to this year’s Vacation Bible School!
St. John’s will be holding Vacation Bible School the week of July 18th through July 22nd in the mornings from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. Our children will be praising God as they focus on the VBS theme “One-Of-A-Kind Zoo”. Each day one of God’s special animals will tell the story of sin and salvation to us. Day One: Tropical Rain Forest, Day Two: The Farm Habitat, Day Three: The Grassland Safari, Day Four: The Living Seas, Day Five: The Rest Area.
Please remember, we are offering classes for 4-year-old preschoolers through teens this year.
Helpers and teacher’s assistants are always needed. Upper graders, ask Pastor to join our staff.
Come and enjoy this Fun Filled Week as we praise and worship Christ our Savior. Hope to see you there!
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“One-Of-A Kind Zoo” St. John’s, Markesan VBS 2011
Student’s Name:___________________________ Age:____________
Address:___________________________________________________________
Phone Number:_______________________ Next School Grade:__________
Parent’s Name:_______________________ Church:____________________
Return to church or mail to
St. John’s Lutheran,
P.O. Box 345,
Markesan, WI 53946
at any time.
L. W. M. S. NEWS JUNE 2011
A heartfelt thank you to all those who helped to make the LWMS rally a success. The choir did a beautiful job of singing “Sharing the Love” and touched the hearts of those who heard them. Thank-you! Pastor Jobs gave an inspiring opening devotion in the afternoon. Doriane Priest made placards and added flowers for all the crosses used as centerpieces and her husband Bob stained the crosses and made several more so we had enough for each table. A number of ladies, and a few men, helped set up the many tables and chairs so everyone could sit in the main basement area. The kitchen help planned the delicious luncheon and many others served and did all the clean up. Other ladies put together all the folder materials, collected the offering and ballots, registered and greeted everyone who came. Sue Abendroth made bookmarks listing our befriend a missions and a prayer on the backside and took photographs of the rally. We could not have done this without all your combined help. The theme was “Stand firm in the Lord”, with Bible verse I Cor. 15:58, ”Stand firm…always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord .” Everyone who helped indeed gave of yourself to the work of the Lord. Thank-you!
There were 136 who attended. The church council had voted to give $500 from the Choice dollars Thrivent church fund toward the collection. This money was added to the $1153.35 collection which was taken. The speakers fee and mileage was subtracted with over $1555 going to our befriend a mission- Beautiful Savior Lutheran church in Fayetteville, NC. Pastor Hirsch was able to share slides and information about our befriend a mission home missions in both North Carolina and Texas. Our speaker, Pastor Steve Wilkens gave updates on many of the home missions as to some of the different ways they are reaching out to communities. He also told of the mission work his church in Fort Atkinson is doing by helping a congregation in Roscoe, Illinois.
Yours in Christ,
LWMS reporter, Linda Pollesch
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