SERMON: by Pastor Mews “The Joy of Receiving God’s Blessings”
based on the text: 1 Corinthians 4:7
ALTAR FLOWERS
The altar flowers are given by Mark and Debbie Wagner in honor of their grandchildren, Harper, Bradley, Tatum, Greer, Harris, Ezekiel, Gabriel and Brooks.
ALL SAINTS WEEKEND
SJL Church will be observing ALL SAINTS’ WEEKEND on November 2 & 3, 2025. We would like to remember and name the saints, your family and friends who have been called home to Jesus since 2024 All Saints’ Day, Sunday, November 3, 2024. We would like to give thanks to God for their faith and life.
ELECTION DAY PULLED PORK DINNER
Tickets are available in the lower hallway after services, from members of the Tuesdays at Ten Bible Study noted on the insert and at the church office until October 27th. The dinner is on November 4th, with 4:30-6:00 p.m. pickup. Our fundraiser is for Shop With A Cop for school age children of Defiance County. Donations are accepted. Please support our fundraiser/dinner.
2026 ALTAR FLOWERS
We still have this weekend available for 2025. If you are interested in signing up for the altar flowers for (in) 2026 please contact Krystle. After speaking with Kirchers, the price will be increased to $25.00 a week.
CHILDREN’S GOSPEL BOXES
Just a reminder that there are Children’s Gospel boxes located in the back of the church on the white lectern. Included in each box are activities for your child to engage in during the church services.
WHO BROKE MY CHURCH?
“Who Broke My Church?” is an interactive, engaging group gathering. Participants will learn and grow to discover how SJL can become effective and thrive in ministry in the Defiance, Ohio, area. This group gathering will help to shape and change the DNA and culture of our church and each individual on how they cannot just attend or just belong to the church, but become the Church of Christ. The class discussions, learning and growth will give practical direction for aging, declining or lukewarm churches. This group gathering will take place each Thursday afternoon from Nov. 6, 2025, through Feb. 26, 2026. Come and grow as frequently as possible. We meet from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Adult Ed A. Please sign up outside room #14.
VISITOR INFORMATION
If you are a guest at St. John Lutheran Church and are filling out the sign-in information in the guest book, please complete all contact information.
SAVE YOUR PLASTIC CAPS!
We are saving CLEAN plastic caps (any size, shape, or color) to possibly have a park bench on our church property. Please bring them to the church office.
Examples of caps: water bottles, milk jugs, sprays (oil, etc.), cleaning products, food products. Thank you.
CLOTHES CLOSET
The St. John Lutheran Clothes Closet is looking for volunteers to work on Thursdays and Fridays If you can even serve for a few hours, please contact Nancy Eickenberg at 419.785.4269 or Linda Hageman at 419.439.3284.
COATS FOR CHRISTMAS
Collection for Coats For Christmas will run from Monday, October 20th thru November 7th. This year they are asking that all donated coats be cleaned prior to putting them in the barrel.
ACT (ADULT CROSS TRAINING STUDY) ADVENT STUDY
“Have you ever received everything you wanted for Christmas?” This is the question Lisa Harper asks us in the introduction to our 2025 Advent Series The Marvel and Miracle of Advent . Please join us on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 p.m. in the Adult Ed A classroom as we prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Jesus as our Savior. Our discussions will be November 5 and 19 and December 3 and 17. All are welcome to join us for this exciting preparation for Jesus’ birth.
SMALL GROUP ADVENT STUDY
The way the calendar falls for Adult Cross Training, Penny & Judy will begin “The Marvel and Miracle of Advent” this Wednesday, November 5 from 6:00 – 7:30pm.
Experiencing the Joy of Generosity:
Week 1- The Joy in Receiving God’s Blessings
This is week one in our stewardship emphasis Experiencing the Joy of Generosity. Our theme for today is “The Joy in Receiving God’s Blessings.” In the words of Billy Graham, “God has given us two hands, one to give with and the other to receive with.” Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are able to appreciate how generously God gives to us. He provides for us physically and spiritually. God demonstrated His love for us by giving “His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). First God loved, then He gave, and He keeps on giving. Forgiveness, salvation, and, in fact, all we are and everything we have or ever will have are gifts from God. May God help you experience the joy of receiving God’s blessings. We hope you will read and be blessed by the trifold brochure “The Joy in Receiving God’s Blessings” that you received. Next week, we will focus on the joy of managing God’s blessings, and, on the third week, we will discuss the joy of sharing God’s blessings. We hope you will join us in both worship and Bible study.
THE HOLY LAND CHRISTIANS ARE GOING TO BE OUR GUESTS – HEAR THEIR STORY AND SEE THEIR BEAUTIFUL OLIVEWOOD CRAFTS
On November 15 & 16, 2025 and during all services, we will be hearing about the Christians of the Holy Land, and after each service we will be hosting at the church a nice display of handmade olive wood religious articles from Bethlehem available for purchase. These carvings include olivewood Nativity sets, crosses, Christmas ornaments, candle holders, angels and many other religious crafts that could make a nice wedding, baptism, confirmation, Easter and Christmas gifts. The carvings are handmade by Christian families from Bethlehem who rely on it for their daily bread.
More than 70% of the Christian Community in the Holy Land depend upon tourism as their only source of income . For decades those Christians have been enduring many hardships as tourism in Bethlehem has plummeted and access to other sources of income has been sharply restricted due to the ongoing conflict, the wars , the 12 yard wall built around Bethlehem , the COVID-19 pandemic , and nowadays the catastrophic ongoing war for the past twenty months , due to this tourists are afraid and unable to visit the Holy Land . This made it very difficult for the Christian families to find their daily bread and forced them to immigrate and flee their homeland since they lost their source of income . The Christian population of the Holy Land was 30% in the last century, today it is less than 1%. If it continues like this, in a few years we will find no Christians in the land of Christ, which could cause tragic consequences to our faith and holy sites .
Please help support our Christian brothers and sisters in the town of Bethlehem where Christ was born by purchasing their carvings.
A Christians family from Bethlehem will be telling us the story of the Christians of the Holy Land and they will be presenting these carvings after the services.
It is never too late to help. All proceeds go to support Christian families from Bethlehem.
Let us carefully tend to our roots, Christian children of God in the Holy Land.
And let us pray together for peace in the land where our Savior once walked to tell the world the good news of salvation .
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely in Christ,
Dr. George Ghanem
Holy Land Christian Solidarity Cooperative
ATTENDANCE CHURCH SERVICES
October 25 49 5:30 PM
October 25 98 9:00 AM
TOTAL: 223