St. Andrew Lutheran Church: 2025

Sunday, June 8, 2025

06/08/2025 Full Worship Service - Pentecost Sunday

Sunday, June 1, 2025

Sermon Text for June 1, 2025

Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and

Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Have you ever watched a sports game, and it’s obvious why one team is doing better than the other? Usually it’s because the team that’s falling behind isn’t coordinated – they’re not able to play together as a team. They’re not unified in their purpose, which is to play and win the game, and so they’re not able to focus on what’s really important – working together to accomplish a goal. There are things which are disrupting their unity, and which are causing them to lose connection with each other. But once they’re able to overcome those, and be unified, then they can move forward and win the game.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus prays for His disciples to be one. And, especially today, there is a greater need for that than ever. People need to know not only what it really means to be a Christian, but who Jesus really is. Who is He? He is our Lord, God, Savior, and the best and most faithful friend we could ever have. He is our helper in every time of crisis and need. He died and rose again so we would be able to have a fresh start in life, and have eternal life. He is the one true God who alone is almighty and in control of all things. But He is also someone who understands us, relates to us, and is one of us, because He is God and human. He heals, saves, restores, and renews all people, and gives a real, loving relationship to everyone who seeks Him. Our mission is to let everyone know this truth, the truth about who Jesus is and what He can do for them. But in order for that to happen, we have to be unified.

However, we have to clarify what unity actually is, since, especially among Christians, there’s a lot of confusion about what it means. Contrary to what a lot of people may think, unity is not based complete agreement on doctrine, teaching, worship style, or stances on issues. It is also not based on agreement on political affiliation, or moral code. All these are things which divide, rather than unite, because there can never be complete agreement on any of these issues. Furthermore, all that ends up happening is people argue over them because they’re convinced that only their way is the right way. So we can’t base unity on things which are ultimately divisive human opinions.

So if unity isn’t based on any of these things, then what is it? Simple, actually: it’s based on Jesus Himself. Our primary allegiance is not to our denomination, association, affiliation, or adherence to any party or philosophy, but ultimately to Jesus and His mission. We are all saved in the same way, by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and we all share one faith in one Jesus as one Savior. We also all have one mission in common: to bring people to Jesus. But in order to carry out our mission together, we have to be unified. There are three things which can help enable the unity Jesus wants for us:

1. Communication. We are to be open with each other, letting each other know about how we feel and what’s going on. We can also listen to each other, take each other’s ideas seriously, and value where each of us are coming from and where we’ve been. We can regard each one of us as being valuable and worthy of respect, and listen to each other’s ideas, especially for how to reach out to our community and the people around us. We are also to listen to God, to the direction He gives us, and always be praying for His guidance. Again, our mission is to reach out on behalf of Jesus – and each of us has an important part to play in that mission. So if we listen to each other, and listen to God’s direction, we can carry out this mission together.

2. Compassion. One of the other most important keys to unity is casting aside those things which divide us, and seeking to understand each other instead. We are also to cast aside any prejudices we may have towards each other, for any reason, and instead regard each other as family members – members of God’s family and our church family. That means tossing aside any opinions we have may have of each other, whether they’re based on appearance, life choices, or anything else, and accepting each other so we can enjoy friendship and fellowship, and reach out to other people together. While it’s easy to discount each other, or people outside of our church family, because of outward appearances or actions, we have to remember that God has made each one of us unique and special, and so we are to regard each other as being unique and special.

3. Commitment. Our commitment is, above everything else, to Jesus, and making Jesus known and bringing people to a relationship with Him. Jesus, and Jesus alone, is to be our God, guide, and Savior. All other commitments take second place to Jesus and obedience to Him. As we talked about a couple weeks ago, obedience to Jesus means loving Him by loving other people the way He loves us – unconditionally. We are not looking to make people agree with us on issues, nor are we trying to make everyone exactly like us in any other way. Instead, we are seeking to be committed – committed to following Jesus, and encouraging others to be committed to following and becoming like Him. The stronger we are in our commitment to Jesus, the more potential we have to be able to grow, both individually and as a church family. But we have to make Jesus our primary commitment, and let every decisions we make, whether they be financial or anything else, be guided by commitment to Jesus.

Let us then, as people who are committed to Jesus, strive to improve in communication and compassion with each other, so we can carry out our calling – to know Jesus, and make Him known. Let us be unified and work together again, and move forward, casting aside all differences and divisions, to be a true team and accomplish the goal Jesus has given us – to be one with each other, and reach out to our community, so everyone may believe in Him and be saved.

Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Community Vacation Bible School, Saturday, June 14th!

Community Vacation Bible School

Theme: “Road Trip”

Saturday, June 14, 2025

9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.

Farmersville-Jackson Township Joint Recreation Park

(We start in the Community Center)

Sponsored by the Valley View Ministerium

Free for Everyone!

All children Grades K-6 are welcome!

Older youth are encouraged to come be volunteer helpers

Snacks will be provided

A freewill offering for For Love of Children (FLOC) will be collected

No Pre-Registration is necessary; feel free to register upon arrival

Registration and Medical Release Forms are also available at Farmersville Christian Church; Farmersville United Methodist Church; St. Andrew Lutheran Church; St. John’s United Church of Christ; and Slifers Presbyterian Church

Please contact Pastor Jon Kibler at (209) 251-3223 or pastorjonkm@gmail.com,

or any of the pastors of the churches listed above for more information

Sunday, May 25, 2025

05/25/2025 Full Worship Service - Graduation Sunday and Memorial Sunday

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Easter Sunday, April 20th!

Join us for Easter Sunday on April 20th, at 10:00 A.M.! We will be celebrating Jesus' glorious and victorious resurrection with praise, song, and Holy Communion. We practice Open Communion: all baptized Christians are welcome to receive the Lord's Supper.

Community Good Friday Service, April 18th!

We are hosting the Community Good Friday Service this year! Join us on Friday, April 18th! We're going to have a Prayer Walk around Farmersville, weather permitting, starting at St. Andrew at 5:00 P.M., and then ending at the church after various stops. In the event of inclement weather, the whole service will be held at the church.

Maundy Thursday, April 17th!

Join us on Thursday, April 17th for Maundy Thursday! We'll be starting with a Carry-In Supper at 6:30 P.M., then informal Holy Communion at around 7:15 or so. See you then!

Palm Sunday, April 13th!

Join us on Sunday, April 13th, at 10:00 A.M. as we remember Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem before His victorious death and resurrection! We will celebrate with the Procession of Palms and Reading of the Passion Story According to Luke. We look forward to seeing you on Palm Sunday!

We are also indeed of Readers for the various parts of the Passion Story story; please let Pastor Jon know if you would be interested.

Final Midweek Lenten Supper and Service, April 9th!

Join us for our final Midweek Lenten Supper and Service on Wednesday, April 9th, starting at 6:30 P.M.! This week, we finish up with "I Am the Resurrection." Our supper is all Carry-In, so come enjoy a wide variety of good food!

Fifth and Final Sunday in Lent this Sunday!

Join us this Sunday, April 6th, at 10:00 A.M. for the Fifth, and final, Sunday in Lent! As we look forward to the future, God wants us to let go and forget the past, and press on towards the higher calling and wonderful destiny He has planned for us! Come this Sunday to find out more! We will also be celebrating Holy Communion; all baptized Christians are welcome and invited to receive the Lord's Supper.

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Service Audio Podcasts

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/scNai10kqRb - March 2, 2025

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/QGpgM10kqRb - February 23, 2025

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/8zFCi20kqRb - February 16, 2025

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/9mJQL20kqRb - February 9, 2025

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/uoRde30kqRb - February 2, 2025

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/m33u030kqRb - January 26, 2025

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/jJeoG50kqRb - January 19, 2025

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/IBd7l60kqRb - January 12, 2025

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/yKguQ60kqRb - January 5, 2025

03/02/2025 Full Worship Service - Transfiguration Sunday

Saturday, March 1, 2025

Midweek Lenten Suppers and Services 2025

You are invited to our Midweek Lenten Suppers and Services this year! Each Wednesday in Lent, starting March 12th, we will be gathering for a meal together at 6:30 P.M., with an informal worship service at 7:15 P.M. afterwards. All events will take place in the Fellowship Hall.

Our theme for this year is "The Great I Am"; We will be looking at different places in the Bible where God tells us who He is.

March 12 - "I Am Who I Am"

Text: Exodus 3:1-14

March 19 - "I Am Your God"

Text: Isaiah 41:10; 43:10

March 26 -"I Am the Light of the World"

Text: John 8:12-20

April 2 - "I Am the Good Shepherd"

Text: John 10:11-18

April 9 - "I Am the Resurrection and the Life"

Text: John 11:17-27

Join us for food and friendship this Lent! We look forward to seeing you!