October 2, 2025 E-Vine – St John's Lutheran Church of Napa CA

Set Free: Paul’s Letter to the Galatians

“Children of Freedom”
October 5, 2025

CLICK HERE FOR SERVICE NOTES.

As We Gather

In today’s passage from Galatians, Paul is contrasting slavery and freedom and calling his readers to embrace the freedom that we have in Christ. What has Christ set us free from? Today we focus on and celebrate all the ways Christ has set us free.

Ongoing News and Information

Pastor Mike’s Bible Class – 1 John: Walking in the Light of God’s Love
Join us on Sundays for a study of 1 John. In this poetic sermon by John, he paints a compelling picture of the Christian life as walking in the light and living in God’s love. John emphasizes authentic discipleship, urging followers to live in the truth, reject false teaching, and demonstrate love not just in word but in action. In so doing, we live in the fellowship God has given us – with Himself and with one another. We will be meeting in Room 8 at 11:00 AM.

October 5 – High School Ministry Meeting
Kevin will be hosting a meeting for all high schoolers and interested parents during the regular High School Hangout time on Sunday, October 5 at 11:00 AM. Please join in the discussion for upcoming events and all things High School Ministry. The meeting will take place in Room 10. If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Mathison at kevin@stjohnsnapa.org.

October 7 – Children’s Church Informational Meeting
CALLING ALL PARENTS! Children’s Church has been truly booming! So much so that we are in need of more teachers for our rotation. We’re inviting all parents of Children’s Church kiddos to partner with us in leading on occasion and want to invite you to an informational meeting on Tuesday, October 7 at 7pm. The meeting will take place via Zoom & cover some of the ins and outs of teaching a group, curriculum map, & training opportunities. If you are not in that group of parents, don’t worry! You’re totally invited to take part in this awesome ministry as well and we would love for you to join us on the Zoom for more info. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for the link and any extra details that may come about.

October 12 – Oktoberfest
Join us on Sunday, October 12 from 12:30-3:30pm for one of our favorite fall events – Oktoberfest! Scroll down for more information. Please click here to RSVP so we can have an accurate count!

October 25 – Fall Work Day
Come enjoy fellowship, food, and the beautiful autumn air at our Fall Work Day on October 25! We plan to start at 10:00 and wrap-up by 2:00. Projects will include weeding and spreading wood chip mulch in Faith Chapel, so don’t forget to bring your gardening gloves if you have them. We are also looking for wheelbarrows, shovels, and rakes, so if you could bring any of that equipment, please let us know when you sign up. Lunch will be provided. Click here to sign up to help. There will also be a sign-up sheet in the sanctuary. Many thanks!

October 26 – Trunk or Treat
Welcome to October! We want to invite you, your family, and your friends to join us for Trunk or Treat on Sunday, October 26 from 4:00-5:30 PM in the St. John’s Lutheran main parking lot. Every year this event turns out to be a blast with some incredible trunks and delicious treats. This event is totally free for all families and friends with no requirement to decorate a trunk, but if you would like to (& we would definitely love you to) join in on the decoration madness please sign up using the link in the E-Vine. Since this is a family friendly event we ask that you please avoid any scary decorations and costumes. If you have any questions about that or the event in general please contact kevin@stjohnsnapa.org.

After-School Assistant at St. John’s Lutheran School

We are looking for an assistant for PALS, our after-school program for St. John’s Lutheran students. The hours would be 2:30-5:30 PM, Monday through Friday.

If you are interested in applying, or would like more information, please contact Ramona Kaufmann at rkaufmann@stjohnsnapa.org.

Pastor Mike’s Bookshelf

The Thing That Would Make Everything Okay Forever: Transcendence, Psychedelics, and Jesus Christ
Ashley Lange

This book is a fascinating account of the author’s search for the thing that would cure all that she felt was wrong in her, all her inadequacies, and all her longings. That search led her into a deep immersion in new age (Hinduism American-style) thinking as well as psychedelic drugs, such as LSD and mushrooms, before finally finding the fulfillment of her search in Jesus Christ.

As someone who has no experience with drugs, I found her account very illuminating about the incredible self-deception that lies at the heart of using such substances as a tool for spiritual enlightenment. The author is very transparent about her life and experiences, and how they affected every aspect of her life. She wrote this book in part because of concern that there are some voices in the health community today that are pointing to psychedelics as a treatment for depression, PTSD, and other issues. Her concern is that these substances are emotionally and spiritually addictive and open the door to great danger.

Because I “read” this book as an audio book, I don’t have a physical copy to place on the bookshelf. But the books unique title makes it rather easy to find online.

Previous recommendations can be found here: church.stjohnsnapa.org/resources/pastor-mikes-bookshelf

Sanctuary Lighting Upgrade

Let There Be Lights!

We are now two-thirds of the way to reaching our goal of $50,000. Thanks be to God! You can make an offering to support the lighting upgrade for the sanctuary in different ways. For an offering by check, just indicate “Let there Be Lights” in the memo line. For online giving, please use the “Let there Be Lights” option to make your offering. The light installation will be coming soon!

St. John’s Oktoberfest: Come for the brats, stay for the banter.

Fall is here, and while pumpkin patches and Pinterest mums are great…you know what’s better?

Brats. Beer. Belly laughs. And desserts so mysterious they deserve their own reality show.

We’re serving up:

Brats, hotdogs, and potato salad (professionally handled)

Beer, wine, lemonade, soda, and coffee

Desserts—wildly diverse, lovingly potluck, possibly German in nature

When and Where:

Sunday, October 12 | 12:30–3:30 PM

St. John’s Lutheran Church — Napa, CA

Free entry. Real fun. *Bring a dessert to share! Homemade, store-bought, weirdly shaped—yes, please*

Please click here to RSVP so we can have an accurate count!

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 by state and city laws.
Set up – Coordinate a team to ensure tables and chairs are set up in the designated areas for food and socializing.
Clean up – Coordinate with a team to clean the area of trash, put tables and chairs away, and return equipment to the appropriate closets.
Entertainment – Work with those that wish to provide entertainment to set up a schedule 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.

Confirmation Classes
The new year of Confirmation is underway! Confirmation, for 7th and 8th graders desiring to know more about God, will be meeting throughout the school year right here at St. John’s. Our remaining meetings this month are on October 8, 15, 22, & 29 in the Library. Each of those Learning Events runs from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. If you have any questions or desire to get involved, please contact Kevin Mathison at kevin@stjohnsnapa.org.

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 Monday Morning Bible Study
The Women’s Bible Study meets every Monday in the Sanctuary from 10:00-11:30 AM. This fall, we’ll be studying the Book of Romans. All study materials will be handed out when we meet. For more information, please contact Judi Rock at goalyce2041@gmail.com.

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