Click below for this week's worship folder and insert.

​Continued Ministry at St. John’s during “Social Distancing”

We will continue to have all regularly scheduled worship services at St. John’s during the week of March 15. In addition to our 8 & 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. services, we will live stream our 11 a.m. service for those who are unable to attend in person. Lent services will continue on Wednesday at 4:30 & 7 p.m. We will suspend our coffee hour and Lent soup suppers for at least the next 30 days. Adult Bible class will continue between Sunday morning services. Children’s Sunday School will be suspended until after Easter.

While we want to avoid panic and rest in the assurance of our faith, we also want to take reasonable precautions. 

What we are doing to facilitate “social distancing”:

• No handshaking or other close contact before or after services
• The offering will be collected in the narthex as you come in rather than passing offering plates
• Each service will utilize a washed (and sanitized) set of communion vessels
• Each service will utilize a fresh purificator soaked with grain alcohol to cleanse the rim of the chalice between communicants
• Individual cups will be spaced with at least one open slot between cups to minimize contact with hands 
• No intinction in the chalice
• Communion assistants will wash their hands thoroughly before the beginning of the service and use hand sanitizer before distributing communion

What you can do to facilitate “social distancing”:

• Stay home if you feel ill, and especially if they are exhibiting any cold or flu-like symptoms. 
• Members who are most at risk--those who are over 60 or who have other potential complications--are advised to remain at home until the threat of community spread has diminished. 
• Consider attending Sunday evening or midweek services, which are generally opportunities to worship with fewer in attendance.
• Consider supporting our ongoing ministry through online giving at www.stjohnschicago.church/give-now 

Because the news and recommendations from health officials are constantly changing, we will avoid making any decisions prematurely. We will continue to post an update every Saturday concerning our services for the following week. In addition, we will provide resources for individual and family devotions, especially for families who find themselves at home for the next several weeks. We will also provide some opportunities for meditation and prayer at St. John’s or online over the next several weeks. Please check back often at www.stjohnschicago.church/blog or follow our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsLutheranChicago for updates. 

Let us pray. Lord God, heavenly Father, You have daily and richly blessed us with all that we need to support our bodies and lives. Give us confidence that you will continue to deliver us from evil. Let us receive our daily bread with thanksgiving. Quiet our hearts and show us opportunities to love and serve our neighbors in this time of uncertainty. Protect us from all that would harm us, through Jesus and in His name. Amen.

First Sunday in Lent
1 Samuel 17:40-51
March 1, 2020
St. John’s Lutheran Church—Chicago, IL
 
In the name of + Jesus.

Bigger is better. That’s the unwritten principle of our age. Business lives on growth. The story of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak building Apple into the global giant of technology that it is today is the stuff of American legend. Mark Zuckerburg got a movie made out of his humble beginnings with The Facebook, and is there any area of life that Amazon has not grown into? (If you’re listening, Alexa, I’ve got an order on the way).

The news has been saturated with reports on the spread of the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) and many people are wondering how to best protect themselves against getting sick. Since the Church is a gathering of people in close proximity, it can potentially be an incubator for for infection. While the Coronavirus has the headlines, the following are good practices at all times, especially during cold and flu season.

Ash Wednesday
Mark 14:1–9
February 26, 2020
St. John’s Lutheran Church—Chicago, IL​

Our Lenten meditations this year will focus on eyes, that is, how we see things—correctly or not. As He makes His way to the cross, all eyes are on Jesus but what do they see? Only through the cross can we see clearly to see Jesus our Savior.

Quinquagesima
1 Corinthians 13:1–13
February 23, 2020
St. John’s Lutheran Church—Chicago, IL
 
In the name of + Jesus.

[Gong!]

I was at the Jewels on Friday and witnessed two grown men engage in a preschool level argument at the checkout. Apparently, there was a disagreement about one of the men butting in line. It was a ridiculous conversation that just went on. The amusing part was that one fellow kept yelling, “Have a good day, sir!” I suspect he wasn’t really wishing the other fellow would have a good day.
​
[Gong!]

Sexagesima
1 Corinthians 12:9
February 16, 2020
St. John’s Lutheran Church—Chicago, IL
 
In the name of + Jesus.
 
We’re spending a little time with the Corinthians this Gesimatide, and man, were they a hot mess of a congregation. In Paul’s first epistle to them (which wasn’t even the first time he had to write to them) he had to address over a dozen different problems ranging from divisions, to factions, to winking at sexual immorality and affirming incest, to taking each other to court, to conduct in worship, to the abuse of the Lord’s Supper. If there was ever a church problem, Corinth probably experienced it.
​
I wonder what St. Paul would have to write to St. John’s. Would he see divisions and factions? Would he find people winking at sexual immorality or affirming it? Would he find lawsuits or pettier squabbles among our members? How do you think he’d address the way people behave in worship? Or how we treat the Lord’s Supper? What might he commend? What might he condemn?

The theme for this year's Lent Midweek Services is Eyes on Jesus. 

From the introduction to the meditations:
​
"O come, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Gradual for Lent, based on Hebrews 12:2)

When the characters in the Passion narrative look at Jesus, what do they see? In most cases, people misunderstood who He is and what He was doing. In some cases, by faith, people recognized Him aright. Our Lenten series this year, based on the Gospel according to St. Mark, will examine how the various people around Jesus viewed Him—and how we should view Him. We will “fix our eyes” on what Jesus has done to save us from our sins by His holy, precious blood and innocent sufferings and death, and celebrate what God sees on account of His work: our justification for His sake."