St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Covina

St John Evangelical Lutheran Church Camping Trip 2019 Blessed with Family,Friends and God’s Grace

Dear St. John, We had 38 in church for Pentecost (May 31st) yesterday. Everything went very smoothly and safely. We will continue with the same protocols for June, or until we are able to lift those restrictions. Holy Communion will be included each week this month. We will continue to live-stream the service. It is a stressful time. I want to open God's Word with you on Saturday, June 6th, at 9:00 AM in our church's backyard to address that stress. BYOB (bring you...r own Bible... and lawn chair). One hour. We'll look at how the Holy Spirit advises us to deal with fear and anxiety. Pastor Curley

Devotions with Pastor Harrison on 1 Corinthians 15. #coronavirus #covid19

Prayer of the Church Second Sunday of Easter 19 April 2020 Hear us, merciful Father, as we pray for ourselves, for the Church, for our nation and for all condit...ions and manner of people. God of mercy, keep us from the doubts and fears that cripple us and prevent us from knowing the fullness of Your saving peace and gracious presence. Teach us to trust in Your Word and to believe with all our hearts, minds, bodies and strength in Jesus Christ, crucified for our sins and raised for our justification. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. God of grace, bestow upon Your Church Your Holy Spirit and all the gifts that come down from on high. Grant to us faithful pastors who will preach faithfully and ears to hear Your Word proclaimed. Give us boldness in our witness before the world and courage to speak Your name without fear. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. God of power, give courage and strength to those persecuted for the faith, and comfort the families of the martyrs. Keep Your Church from following the winds of change, and make her steadfast in the doctrine of the apostles and the faith once delivered to the saints. Help us to admonish those who have fallen away with Your Word and to restore with gentleness those who have wandered from the truth. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. God of might, counsel the nations and their leaders in the paths of peace and justice. Bless us with wise, faithful and just leaders who will protect the sanctity of life and defend us against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Make us wise and discerning citizens who use the gift of liberty for noble purpose. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. God of love, teach us to love one another as You have loved us. Guide us so that in our neighborhoods and communities we may manifest the love of Christ as well as His strength. Deliver us from all that would threaten our homes and families. Protect the police, firefighters, disaster-relief workers and medical personnel who attend to us, as well as the places where we live and work. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. God of comfort, give Your aid and relief to all who suffer want or need, to the sick in their afflictions, to those troubled in mind, and to those to whom death draws near. Heal and sustain them according to Your gracious will, and preserve them in faith to eternal life. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. God of hope, be with those who grieve the loss of those whom they love. Point them to the promise of the resurrection and the gift of everlasting life to all who die in Christ. Deliver us from the distractions of things that do not matter, that we may focus on the needful things of Your Word and Sacraments and so be found faithful when our Lord returns in His glory. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. God of compassion, bless us with the good gifts of the earth, with the fruits of our honest labors, and with a kind and generous heart. Accept the worship of our hearts and voices along with the tithes and offerings we bring as part of our gratitude and thanksgiving. Open our eyes and hearts to the needs of the poor, that we may serve them in Your name. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. God of peace, give harmony and unity to Your people, both in our various vocations before the world and in our common life at this altar. Help us to receive with repentance and joy the gift of Christ’s body and blood in this blest communion, that we may be strengthened in faith and enjoy the gift of a clear conscience through the forgiveness of our sins. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. O blessed God and Lord, hear the prayers of Your people and teach us to trust in Your will to answer our prayers with all that is needful and beneficial, both for us and for all for whom we have prayed; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

+Service of the Word+ Good Friday April 10, 2020 Old Testament Reading Isaiah 52:1353:12... 13Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. 14As many were astonished at you his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind 15so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. 1Who has believed what they heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. Psalm Psalm 22; antiphon: v. 1 1My God, my God, why have you for- | saken me?* Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my | groaning? 2O my God, I cry by day, but you do not | answer,* and by night, but I | find no rest. 3Yet you are | holy,* enthroned on the praises of | Israel. 4In you our fathers | trusted;* they trusted, and you de- | livered them. 5To you they cried and were | rescued;* in you they trusted and were not | put to shame. 6But I am a worm and | not a man,* scorned by mankind and despised by the | people. 7All who see me | mock me;* they make mouths at me; they | wag their heads; 8He trusts in the LORD; let him de- | liver him;* let him rescue him, for he de- | lights in him! 9Yet you are he who took me | from the womb;* you made me trust you at my | mother’s breasts. 10On you was I cast | from my birth,* and from my mother’s womb you have | been my God. 11Be not far from me, for trouble | is near,* and there is | none to help. 12Many bulls en- | compass me;* strong bulls of Bashan sur- | round me; 13they open wide their | mouths at me,* like a ravening and roaring | lion. 14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are | out of joint;* my heart is like wax; it is melted with- | in my breast; 15my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks | to my jaws;* you lay me in the | dust of death. 16For dogs en- | compass me;* a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my | hands and feet 17I can count | all my bones* they stare and gloat | over me; 18they divide my garments a- | mong them,* and for my clothing they | cast lots. 19But you, O LORD, do not be | far off!* O you my help, come quickly | to my aid! 20Deliver my soul | from the sword,* my precious life from the power | of the dog! 21Save me from the mouth of the | lion!* You have rescued me from the horns of the wild | oxen! 22I will tell of your name to my | brothers;* in the midst of the congregation I will | praise you: 23You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glo- | rify him,* and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of | Israel! 24For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his | face from him,* but has heard, when he | cried to him. 25From you comes my praise in the great congre- | gation;* my vows I will perform before those who | fear him. 26The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall | praise the LORD!* May your hearts live for- | ever! 27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn | to the LORD,* and all the families of the nations shall worship be- | fore you. 28For kingship belongs | to the LORD,* and he rules over the | nations. 29All the prosperous of the earth eat and | worship;* before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep him- | self alive. 30Posterity shall | serve him;* it shall be told of the Lord to the coming gener- | ation; 31they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people | yet unborn,* that he has | done it. Epistle Hebrews 4:1416; 5:79 14Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. . . . 7In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. Holy Gospel John 18:119:42 1When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, Whom do you seek? 5They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am he. Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6When Jesus said to them, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. 7So he asked them again, Whom do you seek? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. 8Jesus answered, I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go. 9This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one. 10Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) 11So Jesus said to Peter, Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me? 12So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. 13First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. 15Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, 16but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. 17The servant girl at the door said to Peter, You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you? He said, I am not. 18Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. 19The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20Jesus answered him, I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said. 22When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, Is that how you answer the high priest? 23Jesus answered him, If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me? 24Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. 25Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, You also are not one of his disciples, are you? He denied it and said, I am not. 26One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, Did I not see you in the garden with him? 27Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed. 28Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. 29So Pilate went outside to them and said, What accusation do you bring against this man? 30They answered him, If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you. 31Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law. The Jews said to him, It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death. 32This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 33So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, Are you the King of the Jews? 34Jesus answered, Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me? 35Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done? 36Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world. 37Then Pilate said to him, So you are a king? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the worldto bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. 38Pilate said to him, What is truth? After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, I find no guilt in him. 39But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews? 40They cried out again, Not this man, but Barabbas! Now Barabbas was a robber. 1Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3They came up to him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! and struck him with their hands. 4Pilate went out again and said to them, See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him. 5So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, Behold the man! 6When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, Crucify him, crucify him! Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him. 7The Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God. 8When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. 9He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. 10So Pilate said to him, You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? 11Jesus answered him, You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin. 12From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar. 13So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. 14Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, Behold your King! 15They cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him! Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. 16So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, 17and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 19Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. 20Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. 21So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’ 22Pilate answered, What I have written I have written. 23When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24so they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be. This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. So the soldiers did these things, 25but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Woman, behold, your son! 27Then he said to the disciple, Behold, your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. 28After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), I thirst. 29A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 31Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35He who saw it has borne witnesshis testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truththat you also may believe. 36For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: Not one of his bones will be broken. 37And again another Scripture says, They will look on him whom they have pierced. 38After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

A walk through the Gospel accounts. Today Pastor Harrison talks through the events of Friday of #HolyWeek. Join us live on Facebook at 9am each weekday for these devotions. #coronavirus #covid19

A walk through the Gospel accounts. Today Pastor Harrison talks through the events of Thursday of #HolyWeek. Join us live on Facebook at 9am each weekday for these devotions. #coronavirus #covid19

Devotions with Pastor Lange on Isaiah 53:1-6. #covid19 #coronavirus

Devotion with President Harrison on Romans 8 #coronavirus #covid19

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Ps. 46:1). In a March 13, 2020, video message, Pastor Matthew C. Harrison, president of The L...utheran ChurchMissouri Synod (LCMS), provides a word of comfort to the people of the LCMS amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He also gives updates on the Synod's response and encourages members to be patient and generous with each other during this stressful time. https://blogs.lcms.org//resource-helps-congregations-plan/ #coronavirus #covid19

+Service of the Word+ The Second Sunday in Lent March 8, 2020 Old Testament Reading Genesis 12:19... 1The LORD said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 4So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, To your offspring I will give this land. So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. 9And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb. Epistle Romans 4:18, 1317 1What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. 4Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. . . . 13For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspringnot only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17as it is written, I have made you the father of many nationsin the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Holy Gospel John 3:117 1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. 3Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? 5Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. 9Nicodemus said to him, How can these things be? 10Jesus answered him, Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Collect of the Day O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul.

Ash Wednesday. Today #Lent begins. It's a season of repentance and we consider our place before God. Who are we? We are nothing. We bring nothing to God. We have nothing to offer. We are sinful and evil. And God is justified to judge us guilty. #AshWednesday #Psalm51 #LivingHope