Devotion

        . . . from the desk of the pastor

 

July is always a time to reflect upon the Goodness of God. We celebrate the 4th with fireworks, picnics, parades, homemade pies, and public displays of “Old Glory”. It is a day to recall how we’ve been blessed.

We also look out across the prairie and see the expanse of green that goes to the horizon. We have a sense in our hearts that we help to feed the world. Our crops supply nutrition to countless folks across the globe.

Our children, companions, colleagues, and kinsmen are the most important of the blessings that we have. We love them, and are grateful for them. The basis of our love is taught in Scripture. The Bible teaches us about relationships, about governance, and about responsibilities.

What would we do without the impact of Scripture in our lives? An America devoid of traces of the Bible would be difficult to imagine. Scriptural principles have shaped our legal system, our economy, our educational outlook, and how we care one for another. Scripture permits us to explore, expand and express. We do not want Scripture diminished or re-interpreted in order to accommodate short-term perspectives.

Twenty years ago a prominent leader in the Lutheran Church stated that church bodies across America were taking their cues from “public opinion polls rather than from the words of Scripture.” Followers of Jesus are to be “thermostats” rather than “thermometers”. Thermometers, like public opinion polls, simply measure changes that occur. Thermostats regulate the temperature and don’t allow situations to get too hot, and keep them from getting too cool. Thermostats maintain a level of balance. Scripture is the thermostat that God has given us to help moderate the issues in our lives and within our society.

God’s love is constant—always available. When we may be hot and firey, his love calms and heals; when we may feel cold and distant, the warmth of his love encourages and embraces us.

We are called to be–collectively–“a people of the Book”. The idea is that we as a nation are urged to know Scripture. Luther had that idea in mind when he came up with the Small Catechism. Using it, Moms and Dads were to be the ones who would teach their children the basics of Biblical knowledge. When the child learns Biblical truth from father and mother, he/she will not soon depart from it. When Oma and Opa speak of it, display it, and pray on it, that child will embrace it for a lifetime. When that happens, the words of Biblical truth come as readily from the lips of a child as breath itself. Whatever causes Scripture to be diminished will damage the impact of the church.

America began as a nation fixed upon Scriptural principles. There was never a doubt of the nation’s reliance on the Bible. Alexis DeTocqueville, a Frenchman, made this observation on a visit to the young American nation in 1831: “America is great because America is good. When America ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.”

The Goodness in our nation has its foundation on Scripture and Scripture’s application in society. When this foundation is compromised, there are consequences. God’s love guides us to follow Scripture. He loves us and knows what’s best for us … let’s listen to God together.

As we prepare for the upcoming vote on July 11 and make our congregation’s decision about our future, may our confidence be in what Scripture speaks to us.

Your fellow worker,

Jay Johnson

 

SPECIAL CONGREGATION MEETING

St. John Lutheran Church Congregation Council called a special congregation meeting to be held following worship on Sunday, July 11, for the purpose of voting on a resolution indicating the desire of this congregation to terminate its relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The results of the vote were 209 Yes and 5 No.

The Bishop of the Central/Southern Illinois Synod shall consult with the congregation during a period of at least 90 days. If after 90 days has passed and a consultation with the Bishop of the Synod has occurred, and the congregation still desires to terminate its relationship with the ELCA, then a second special congregation meeting will be called for a second vote to terminate relationship. This vote must also pass by a two-thirds majority of the voting members present.

During the time-frame between votes, the congregation will determine what Lutheran church body it will affiliate with after its relationship with the ELCA is terminated.