July 31, 2025 E-Vine – St John's Lutheran Church of Napa CA

“Endure”
August 3, 2025

CLICK HERE FOR SERVICE NOTES.

As We Gather

When you think about enduring something, some of you might think of finishing a sweaty workout while others might think about making it through a time where the bills didn’t stop coming in. Maybe you find yourself somewhere in between those two situations. The odds are that you didn’t think about Jesus enduring for us and all that means for our lives. This week we focus on all that Christ endured and continues to endure for us so that we can be certain of the hope we have. Our High School Youth just returned from the 2025 LCMS Youth Gathering and have tons to share with you today. Join us as we provide this teenage view on the Gospel as we try to share as much as we can from our incredible week in New Orleans.

Ongoing News and Information

New Church Office Manager
We are pleased to announce that our new church office manager is Kristy Watkins. Her first day in the office is August 1. May God bless her and her service to our church community.

Pastor Mike’s Bible Class
Pastor Mike’s Bible class will not be meeting for the next few weeks. It will resume on August 24th when we will begin a study of 1 John.

August 10 – Worship in the Faith Chapel
We will be worshipping in the Faith Chapel on Sunday, August 10. Please make note of the weather before coming to worship. We look forward to worshipping the Lord in the beauty of our outdoor sanctuary.

Sanctuary Lighting Upgrade

Let There Be Lights!

The long overdue project to update and enhance the lighting in the sanctuary is here! What is included in this upgrade?

LED lighting throughout the sanctuary, replacing the incandescent lights and original fixtures.
Enhanced lighting of the chancel (front of the sanctuary) for better visibility.
Updated controls and integration with the worship tech station
Better cameras for recording and stream that can easily be controlled by worship tech for pan, tilt and zoom.

The Board of Directors has approved funds from the Michael Thomas bequest for a portion of this project. We are inviting the St. John’s community to support the rest.

Our goal is $50,000. Thank you to all who have made an offering! If you would like to make an offering to “Let There Be Lights,” please indicate on your check or online that it is for the lighting project.

Sunday, October 12, 2025
12:30-3:30 PM

Hello St. John’s family. October will be here before we know it and you know what that means, Oktoberfest!!! We need volunteers and leaders from the congregation to help Josh Wright make this wonderful event a success.

We currently need volunteers and leaders for the five major areas of the event:

Food – Work with caterer to ensure buffet is set up. Also assist with placing desserts and other German inspired treats on the dessert table.

Beverages – Ensure the beverage area is organized and that adult beverage areas vs non-adult beverage areas are clearly marked and separated. We want to ensure that this is a safe event and that we are abiding with state and city laws.

Set up – coordinate a team to ensure tables and chairs are setup in the designated areas for food and socializing.

Clean up – coordinate with a team to clean up the area of trash, put tables and chairs away, and return and equipment to the appropriate closets.

Entertainment- Work with those that wish to provide entertainment to set up a schedules and time slots or play music from an iPod/radio when live entertainment is not available.

If you’re interested in being a part of this amazing fellowship, please reach out to Josh at joshwright@stjohnsnapa.org or contact the church office. Once we have volunteers signed up, an informational meeting will be scheduled.

National Youth Gathering in New OrleansThe National Youth Gathering just concluded and was an amazing experience for all of our youth and adult attendees. Thank you for your prayers of support. We plan to share about our time at NYG with the congregation on Sunday, August 3 during the service.

We have added a few members to our team and we are always looking for more. It’s a joy to share the gospel with the young kids at their level each week! If you are interested in serving in Children’s Church occasionally please contact Kevin Mathison or the Church Office.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow St. John’s Youth Ministry on Social Media to keep up with all the latest information!
Facebook: SJL Napa Youth Ministry
Instagram: St. John’s Lutheran Napa Youth

St. John’s LCC K9 Comfort Dog Ministry
Our team sent 13 members to the LCC K9 Comfort Dog Conference inn Northbrook, Illinois in July. There were over 500 humans attending as well as over 90 beautiful Golden Retrievers. We thank Thrivent for assisting us with an Action Team card.

Every week is an opportunity to invite someone to join with us in worship, whether in person or online. The first step, though, is to pray for those who you may invite. Who can you pray for? Who will you invite?

You can CLICK HERE to give your offering online.

Stephen Ministers Grow in the Lord
The more you focus on the Lord and do God’s work, the more satisfaction you will find. It’s that simple! Are you looking for more satisfaction in your life? Consider serving our congregation as a Stephen Minister. By helping others, you will help God’s kingdom grow – and you will grow too! To learn more about Stephen Ministry and what Stephen Ministers do, contact Penni Cremen (707-483-9321) or Pastor Mike at the church office (707-255-0119).

Women’s Bible Study will resume after the Summer.

Men’s Saturday Morning Bible Study

The Men’s Saturday Morning Bible Study is currently studying the Gospel of Luke. Join us for fellowship at 7:30 AM and Bible Study from 8-9 AM

Biblical Counseling at St John’s?

The Biblical Counseling Center of Napa Valley

The Biblical Counseling Center of Napa Valley is a ministry to the families of St. John’s Lutheran Church and all Christians in the greater Napa area. Our center began some 25 years ago to offer strength and direction to those Christians suffering through trials and tribulations using the promises and hope the Bible offers to those who trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior. To learn more, CLICK HERE. If you, or someone you know, is struggling with life’s stressors, please consider giving us a call at 707-738-5306. (We are a free ministry to all).

Right Now Media
Right now media is an online resource providing Christian videos for all ages: Children’s resource, Bible Studies, lectures and more. As a congregation, we have subscribed to Right Now Media, so access is free for all in our St. John’s family. If you haven’t already signed up for Right Now Media, CLICK HERE.

Where do I find sermons and services that I missed?

You can find previous sermons in three places. The full services are available on the YouTube channel.

YouTube Channel:
- www.youtube.com/user/stjohnsnapaca/live
- There are playlists for sermons, Sunday Services, Wednesday Night Worship and teaching on Matthew
RightNow Media Channel
- www.rightnowmedia.org/CustomLibrary/41667
- Scroll down to find recommendations as well as sermon and Gospel of Matthew lessons
Website
- church.stjohnsnapa.org/resources/sermons
- The sermons are arranged by worship series