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Weekend Worship - The Baptism of Jesus

Scripture Readings: Genesis 1:1-5, Romans 6:1-11, Mark 1:4-11

Today's portion of the Master Narrative takes us from the manger scene and the wise men’s journey to the waters of the Jordan where Jesus is baptized by John. The Bible tells us that when Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form (a dove). Did you know that in your baptism, something similar happens to you? In baptism you receive the Holy Spirit and God declares, “this one's mine!” In addition, our baptisms unite us into Christ's death and resurrection. A baptism is a drowning and a killing of our sinful natures and a resurrection to new life in Christ. All this happens in a matter of seconds! What a miracle–a gift–from our heavenly Father, who sent His Son to fulfill all righteousness!

Winter 2024 Mom Café Starts February 1

Mom Café provides a time and space for moms of all ages to connect with each other; to seek God; to learn and support each other in the challenges of being a mother. 

Our Winter 2024 Mom Café offers an opportunity for two book studies. On February 1 and 15, we'll dig into The Case for Easter. Lee Strobel looks at the story of Jesus’ resurrection and reveals how we can know that it actually took place. Lee discusses how all the facts point to the conclusion that led him from atheism to Christianity: Jesus was the Son of God who conquered the grave!

Starting March 7 is a 6-week study, M is for Mama. Mama of ten, Abbie Halberstadt helps women humbly and gracefully rise to the high calling of motherhood without settling for mediocrity or losing their minds in the process. M is for Mama offers advice, encouragement, and scripturally sound strategies seasoned with a little bit of humor to help you embrace the challenge of biblical motherhood and raise your children with love and wisdom. 

Mom Café meets every other Thursday (February 1 & 15, March 7 & 21, April 4 & 18, May 2 & 16) from 8:00 to 9:30 am in the church gathering space. The connections made at Mom Café have been a blessing to many moms and there is always room for you to join us! Sign up below and enjoy mother-to-mother support, faith-filled conversations, fellowship, food, and FREE childcare. Space is limited for childcare, so sign up early.

Sign Up for the Winter 2024 Mom Cafe

Welcome Worship Ministry Intern: Liv Kukor

St. John's has been blessed to host Worship Ministry Internships over the last four years, both through Winterim and Summer experiences. As a continued commitment to engage, support, train and mentor future church workers, we are again hosting a Worship Leadership Intern from Living Word Lutheran High School over the next three weeks. We are excited to welcome Liv Kukor to the team! This short internship will move quickly, but will offer Liv great opportunities to grow in her gifts and their use in God's Church. Let's give thanks for Liv's time with us and lift her up in prayer as we are blessed in worship together over these next few weeks.

My name is Liv Kukor and I am a senior at Living Word Lutheran High School. I plan to attend the University of Indianapolis and major in Music Therapy. Doug Raddemann has given me the great opportunity to worship and learn more about the background of church music here at St. John’s West Bend.

Just to give you a little bit of background, I’ve been playing piano now for 10 years and started playing the organ in 6th grade (which would be about 6 years now), becoming a part-time organist at my church after our DPM took a call to serve at another church. For my first two years of high school, I played in the band, with the saxophone as my main instrument as well as picking up the clarinet during my sophomore year. As I transitioned into my junior year, I switched to choir and have enjoyed getting to see the best of both worlds (instrumentally and chorally speaking). To add on, I’ve also been a part of Living Word’s praise team, BasiC, for two years now and it’s been an amazing experience getting to visit different churches and being a part of their communities in worship.

So why am I here? In the past, I was able to come and experience what a St. John’s blended church service was like, and I enjoyed it. My home church is St. Paul’s West Allis, and I love how I’ve been able to grow my musical talents there. However, we don’t have a solid praise team program and therefore don’t have the opportunity to grow in a contemporary worship aspect, meaning that we usually stick to a traditional worship setting (which is still just as important I will say). So although my plans aren’t set on going into church music and ministry, I still strongly believe that these next few weeks will serve a great purpose in teaching me all the aspects of worship and planning church services as well as allowing me to grow more strongly in my faith through a great passion of mine: making music.

2024 St. John's Couples Retreat

Hello St. John’s Couples!

Remember the most beautiful, fragrant, and tasty meal that you’ve ever had (or imagined) with your spouse. Think of the setting. Maybe it’s on a beach. Maybe it’s in a park on a blanket. Perhaps this meal is in a cozy room surrounded by a glowing fire and decorations. Maybe it’s a quiet place where life’s disruptions (yes, even technology) have faded away. Maybe the meal is in a simpler setting, a place of comfort that just feels like home where you feel secure, free of doubt, and can just be yourself with your spouse.

How did your senses come alive? What are all the little details that make this beautiful meal so amazing? What creativity and effort went into it?

Indeed, these amazing experiences and intricate details are filled with the wonders of God’s love and provision. In many ways, this beautiful meal you remember (or imagine) is a lot like what God wants for you and your spouse as you Savior the Flavor of Marriage.

The truth is all marriages have these moments in some way, and they are amazing! But we also know they are short-lived. We all know the reality that all marriages are marred by sin. Sin turns relationships into flavors, fragrances, and visuals that we don’t want to experience. But we do. God has a better way. His way… His love. “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Psalm 34:8a)

If you’re looking for some time away with your spouse, while still having some fun growing and connecting with other faithful couples, the 2024 St. John’s Couple’s Retreat is the place to be! This amazing weekend of friendship and fun is coming the weekend of March 1-3 to a new location… The Inn on Woodlake in Kohler, Wisconsin. This weekend is designed for you to rest, learn, laugh, and prioritize your marriage as God leads you on your journey as a couple.

The cost is $475, spots are limited (30 rooms have been reserved). To learn more and make your reservation (first-come, first-served) please click on the links below.

Jesus is preparing yet another beautiful, amazing meal for you. Come, Taste… and See!

St. John’s Couple’s Retreat Committee

View the 2024 Couples Retreat Brochure

Register for the 2024 Couples Retreat

Winter Discipleship Hour: Living as Exiles

We spent the fall in Discipleship Hour (DH) exploring and wrestling with various hot topics that are bubbling up in our culture and considering the biblical witness and how we might start to faithfully respond to these issues. One of the conclusions that came out was a number of people noticing that our world and our culture have changed considerably. Any sort of Christian moral understanding has been largely abandoned by a large majority of our country, and people are not nearly as religious as they were. In short, we as Christians are living in a time and place that is foreign to us.

Given these realities, our theme for Discipleship Hour this winter will be “Living as Exiles.” We’ll begin with a recap of the fall, and then move into our first major topic: The End Time and the Middle Eastern Conflict–Are they connected?

This session of Discipleship Hour will run from Sunday, January 7 through Sunday, March 17, where we will then take a break for Holy Week and Spring Break.

Middle School DH: Meets in the Social Studies room on the 2nd floor of the school.

Kid's DH Ages 3*-5th Grade: It’s a wonderful opportunity for the kids to connect, care, and share in Christ together with old and new friends! Children ages 3-5th grade will learn through age appropriate lessons with fantastic teachers! Drop-off for them will be in the ECC K3/K4 AM Classroom, the last classroom upstairs. *Children must be potty trained. If your 3-year-old is not potty trained, we have child care.

Child Care for Ages Infant-3 Years Old: Child care is in the ECC 2-year-old classroom.

Sign Up Your Child for Kid's Discipleship Hour

January Youth Events

Youth Bible Study - Parables of Jesus

• Sunday, January 14 

• 6:30 - 8:00 pm

• Snacks

• Any youth interested in Bible study & discussion

• Alan's home (1821 Jefferson St.)

BASH & ROCK at Threshold

• Monday, January 15 from 10:30 - 12:00 pm

• Grades 4 and up

• Serving Special Needs

• Meet at St. John's Church

BASH & ROCK Camp Luther Weekend

• Friday, January 19 - Sunday, January 21

• Call Alan for details

• Meet at St. John's Church

BASH & ROCK Milwaukee Rescue Mission

• Wednesday, January 24

• 4:00 - 7:00 pm (help serve dinner)

• Meet at St. John's Church

Attention ROCK (Grades 8-12):

You're invited to help with BASH (Grades 4-7)!

Contact Alan if you are interested.

Mission Trip to Nashville

• June 15 - 21, 2024

• Youth in Grades 7 and up

• At least 3 adults needed

Nashville Mission Trip Information

Please call or text Alan Lull at (262) 707-9198 with any questions about any events.

Baptism Class

The class is led by Doug and Mel Raddemann. This course is for anyone looking to be baptized themselves or for any parent who would like his or her child baptized at St. John's. The class introduces what we believe and confess about the amazing gift that baptism is for individuals and families.

• Monday, January 15

• 6:30 pm

• Church Nursery

Please RSVP to the church office if you plan to attend by emailing: stjohns@stjohnswestbend.org or calling: (262) 334-4901.

January Book Club

Our Women's Book Club typically meets the third Tuesday of each month from 6:30-8:00 pm. Come to all of our book club meetings or just the ones that fit into your schedule. We do not have a regular meeting location, but enjoy the hospitality of hosting each other. Please watch for the locations of each get together as they become available.

Book Club List for Jan - May 2024

January 16: Sense And Sensibility by Jane Austen (Fiction/Romance). We'll be meeting at Cheryl Wipperfurth’s house: 229 Hargrove Place, West Bend.

January 19: Movie night! We'll enjoy dinner and a movie as we watch the movie, Miracles in Heaven, at Penny Van Dellen's house.

February 20: A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin (Christian Romance)

March 19: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Fiction)

April 16: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (Self-Help)

May 21: Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Science Fiction)



Please contact Cheryl Wipperfurth at cwipperfurth71@gmail.com or Leah Mussel at lmussell@sjswb.org with any questions.

Women’s Ministry Brunch & Craft

• Saturday, January 20 (New Date!)

• 9:00 - 11:00 am

• Lower Level Fellowship Hall

The St. John's Women's Ministry is hosting a brunch on January 20. Enjoy great food, fellowship and a Paper Quilling Craft. Plus, find out what their plans are for spring events. Click the sign up link to view the craft project. Cost is $5 per person. Please sign up below.

Questions? Contact Becky at deanbeckyf@gmail.com or (262) 388-6048.

Sign Up for Brunch and Craft

Sister to Sister Bible Study

Monday Nights:

• 2nd and 4th Mondays

• January 22 & 29

• 6:30 - 8:00 pm

• Meet at Penny Van Dellen's House

Wednesday Mornings:

• On Hold until February

Questions? Please email Penny Van Dellen at pvandellen@sjswb.org or email Denise Seibel at blessedonwheels@gmail.com

Milwaukee Rescue Mission

Wednesday, January 24 - Serving Dinner

We'll leave St. John's church at 4:00 pm, return at 7:00 pm.

Saturday, February 24 - Serving Lunch

We'll leave St. John's church at 9:30 am, return at 1:00 pm.

Saturday, March 9 - Serving Lunch

We'll leave St. John's church at 9:30 am, return at 1:00 pm.

Milwaukee Rescue Mission can only take groups of 10 people. Servers must be old enough to be able to help and serve food for 2 hours.

Please call or text Alan Lull at (262) 707-9198 to reserve a spot.

The Twelve Forty-Eight is a young adult ministry for those in their 20s and 30s in the Milwaukee area who want to connect with other young adults through a variety of different events and Bible study. We have Bible study every second Friday of the month as well as planned events once a month. We have several upcoming events we'd love to have you join:  

• Friday, February 9 - Bible Study

• Saturday, February 17 - Ice Skating at the Pettit Ice Center

If you have any questions or want to be added to our email/message chain you can contact one of the leaders Leah Mussell at lmussell@sjswb.org or email the 1248 Ministry at 1248ministry@gmail.com. We would love to have you join us!

Our Prayers are with the family of Mary Hicken whose funeral was Friday, January 12 at St. John's. May God comfort this family with the promise of the resurrection through faith in Christ.

Members in the Hospital: Bill Bremser

Members in Hospice: Tom Gmirek

Members in Treatment, at Home, or Recovering: Pastor Mike Schram, Parker Dietrich, Jeff Guth, Ken Barrett, Robert Werner, Bill Bremser, Jean Phillip, Logan Forler, Lyn Fellenz, Phyllis Nordgren, Mary Biegler, Char Otto, Carol Schladweiler, Renee Haugen, Judy Dricken, Tim Drover, Mary Ann Gierach, Vicki Potter, Randy Mueller, Ruth Ann Scheuneman, Roger Berth, Cathie Schuler, Bruce Biendarra, Ken Endlich, Monica Wunder, Joel Clausen, Adrian Buntrock, Kathryn Benner, Gladys Hron, Barbara Moritz, Carla Kinkel, Delores Fischer, Marcy Donaldson, Gene Biegler.

Non-Members: Ben Pluta (Son of Friend of Kathleen Sitzberger), Stephanie Schmidt (Daughter-in-Law of Dave and Karen Schmidt), Isaiah Demers, Franklin Keller (Father of Julie Keller), Cheri Fleer, John Kumbalek (Friends of the Biendarra Family), Barbara Black (Daughter of Jean Black), Shane Nault (Grandson of Mike & Carmen Kuntz).

Saturday

6:00 PM Traditional

Sunday

8:00 AM Traditional

9:25 AM Adult Discipleship Hour (Lower Level)

Kids DH (2nd Floor ECC)

Middle School DH (2nd Floor School)

9:30 AM Blended (In-Person and Livestream)

11:00 AM Contemporary