A Note from Pastor Bare

We know from God's Word of truth that the devil is a liar, always has been and always will bel l don't know if it serves any purpose to rank his alluring lies. They are all dangerous and deadly. But perhaps this is his #1 lie: "YOU CAN BE YOUR OWN SAVIOR!"

How does Satan even get anyone to believe such a bold, brazen lie as this? Yet it is the biggest gun in his arsenal, and the most effective. Even churches that call themselves Christian support this lie in their catechisms and teach it as truth to their people!

The allure of this lie is that it hooks into our sinful pride. "I'm not that bad! I help my neighbor. I give to the needy. I haven't murdered anyone and have never been unfaithful to my spouse."

But the truth is: SALVATION IS NOT AND CAN NEVER BE A "DO-IT-YOURSELF" PROJECT! Experiment with this thought; test its veracity in your everyday life. See if you can go throughout the entire day and completely refrain from some sin that you are prone to commit. Is it gossip? Is it discontentment? Is it lust? Greed? Selfishness? Anger? Vengeful thoughts? Envy? Jealousy? Apathy? Try really, really hard to fight this sin and avoid it entirely! Can you beat it for even one day? How could we ever save ourselves from sinning when we keep sinning?

Galatians 2:21 is a logical statement of truth concerning the folly of believing the lie we can be our own savior. Paul writes, "I do not regard the grace of God as nothing. As a matter of fact, if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for nothing!" In other words, if people can be their own savior, why did Jesus come to earth, and why did he go to the cross and suffer and die? Everything God's Son did would have been totally unnecessary. And that would make him and his Father and the Holy Spirit the biggest fools ever! But God is never a fool! He knows perfectly what was needed to fix our sin problem: only the perfect life and innocent death of a substitute! Jesus' death was not in vain! Jesus did not die for nothing! He died for us! He died to deliver us from death and hell!

The truth is: Only the pure and perfect Son of God clothed in human flesh and blood could be our Savior!

The truth is: Only the true God brimming over with love and compassion for sinners would be our Savior!

As those saved by grace through the redeeming work of Christ, we do come and worship our saving God! We do come and watch the Lenten miracle story unfold once again: "The Son of God...loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

~ Pastor J. Bare

Worship Update

Greeters for this month:

Altar Committee for this month:
Rachel Merkle

Congregational Acts

Baptism
Evelyn Kay Kober, 1/25/26, daughter of Eric & Allison (Tuin) Kober

Entered Eternal Life
Margaret Louise (Wolf) Kolb, 1/27/26

Bible Classes/Sunday School

Volunteers needed for our Sunday School program at St. John’s! Unless otherwise noted on our calendar, we meet every Sunday, 9:00 am – 9:45 am. We begin with a Bible lesson, followed by open gym time and various organized fun activities. If you would be interested in helping, let the office know: 989-684-6791.

Midweek Bible Class: This is a reminder that we will temporarily suspend our midweek Bible study from Ash Wednesday (February 18th) until after Easter for our midweek Lenten services.

Evangelism Commitee

Our Wednesday Lenten Dinners will begin on Ash Wednesday, February 18th . As in the past we are asking for desserts for the dinners. Dinners will be served after the 3:15 pm services, 4:15 pm until 5:45 pm. We are asking everyone attending for a free-will donation for their meal. We will have a sign-up sheet for desserts, and for volunteers willing to help serve and/or clean-up. (Children must be accompanied by an adult)

Scheduled Dinners:

Join us on Sunday, February 22nd, at the Dow Event Center as the Saginaw Spirit take on the Guelph Storm - 5:30 pm. Tickets are $14 for upper-level. For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit the Saginaw Spirit portal: www.saginawspirit.net/groupsales. User Name: SJBC0222, Password: spirit. There are flyers on the table outside the church office.

Other Announcements

At our annual Voters’ meeting on Sunday, January 25th , Larry Schwartz was appointed Congregational President for 2026.

Pastor Benjamin Kempfert, of Immanuel, Waupaca, WI, was called to serve as our next Pastor. We encourage everyone, especially the church leadership and faculty, to reach out to Pastor and speak with him about our ministry here at St. John's. His email address is: shepherdkempfert@gmail.com and his phone number is (715) 281-0164. We recommend emailing him to set up a time to speak on the phone. Please keep Pastor and his family in your prayers as he deliberates his calls to Immanuel and St. John’s.

Classroom Spotlight

We would like to share with you what is ‘happening’ in our school, so each month we will feature one of our classrooms and teacher. This month’s classroom spotlight is on our 5th & 6th grade class and their teacher, Mrs. Megan Spaude

This has been coupled with supplementary work with IXL, which gives the students an opportunity to practice a large quantity of problems to reinforce concepts. 5 th and 6th grade is the first time St. John’s students get to experience a study of the Catechism in addition to Christ Light. Until now, we have been taking a closer look at each of the ten commandments. Soon, we will be starting a study of the articles of the Apostles’ Creed. We are in a New Testament year in Christ Light, so we are in the midst of studying the life and works of Jesus and will soon transition into a study of the apostles. Many of our 5th and 6th grade students also got their first experience playing A-Team basketball on January 23rd -24th at MLS. They played some great games in the MLS Coed tournament and had a lot of fun!

School News

The 2026 Board of Education for St. John's is: Rusty Rothfuss (Chairman), Ryan Morley, Jeff Schwall, Jordan Strieter, George Strieter, and John Schaaf. If you wish to contact any members of the Board of Ed, please email them at: boe@stjohnsbc.org.

Do you love a good book? So do the students of St. John’s! During February, help support the prize patrol for the Accelerated Reading program by dropping your extra change in the jars outside the church and school offices. The classroom who collects the most change will win a pizza party and you will receive that warm, loving feeling of donating to a great cause. Readers are Leaders!

No school: Grades 1 st – 8 th will be off on Monday, February 9th, because of the pastor/teacher conference. PreK4 and Kindergarten will be in session. There will be no school February 16th & 17th for Midwinter Break.

Home & School Connect will meet February 24th at 5:00 pm.

St. John’s School Talent Show, A Spotlight Spectacle, is scheduled for Friday, February 27th, 6:00 pm, in the church Fellowship Hall. Students in grades K-8 th are encouraged to join in the fun! Audition information was sent home on Friday, January 16th; please have your student(s) form filled out and returned to school by Friday, January 30th.

A new Grow with Me class, taught by our preschool director, Mrs. Laurie Peil, will be held March 2nd - March 23rd . These classes are for 2 and 3-year-olds and an accompanying adult (Dad, Mom, Grandparent, etc.) This session will be held in the gym on Monday evenings from 5:30 pm-6:30 pm; use the Alp St. doors. Adults and kids: be sure to bring dry gym shoes with you! The cost is $25 for 4 weeks; application forms are available in the church and school offices.

Preschool packets for the 2026/2027 school year are available in the church and school offices.

MLS News

The MLS Foundation’s Throwback & Give Back Dinner and Auction will be held on Sunday, February 15th. Enjoy an evening filled with fellowship, fun, and the opportunity to support Michigan Lutheran Seminary. Tickets are available until February 6th. Visit https://auctria.events/MLS2026 for details and to get your tickets today.

Registration for MLS Summer Camps will open on February 15th. These camps offer a fun, faith-filled environment where young athletes and artists can develop their skills, build teamwork, and grow in confidence. With outstanding facilities and a dedicated staff, each camp provides a high-quality and rewarding experience for every participant. Camp offerings include Fine Arts, Basketball, Football (including a Father/Son clinic), and Volleyball, with options available for a variety of age groups. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged once registration opens. The registration deadline is May 31st. Visit www.mlsem.org to register beginning February 15th and secure your child’s spot.

Camp Dates
• June 11–12: Grades 3–6 Fine Arts Camp
• June 15–17: Grades 5–9 Boys’ Basketball Camp
• June 17–19: Grades 6–9 Football Camp
• June 19 (5:30–8:30 pm): Grades 2–5 Father/Son Football Clinic
• June 22–24: Grades 5–9 Girls’ Basketball Camp
• June 24–25: Grades 5–9 Volleyball Camp

MLS Children’s Theatre: Michigan Lutheran Seminary is pleased to present its 2026 children’s theatre production, The Enchanted Bookshop by Todd Wallinger. Performances will be held at 6:30 pm on Saturday, March 14th, and at 3:00 pm on Sunday, March 15th. This production is free and open to the public.

By day, A Likely Story looks like an ordinary used bookstore. By night, it becomes a place of magic, where the characters inside the books come to life. Dorothy Gale, Robin Hood, Pollyanna, Sherlock Holmes, Heidi, and Tom Sawyer work together to help the scatterbrained owner, Margie, save her struggling shop. When smugglers arrive searching for a stolen necklace hidden inside one of the books, the characters must decide whether to risk being seen by humans or find a clever way to stop the crooks without revealing themselves.

Around the WELS

Riverside Shooting Club: Students, aged 8-21, are invited to join the Junior Air Rifle Program, held at Duncan’s Outdoor Shop, 501 Salzburg Ave., Bay City. This group, coached by certified instructors, will meet on Monday evenings, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm. The first session is free, $3.00 per session after that. The sessions include safety-focused training, competition and skill-building events, and are great for building focus, patience, and discipline. Duncan’s will provide range time, ammunition, air rifles, equipment and awards. Call Duncan’s for more information: 989-894-6691.

Men Alive! Rally: February 21st at the DoubleTree Hotel in Bay City, 8:00 am-3:00 pm. Breakfast begins promptly at 7:15 am. Come hungry; there will be bacon (and all the other options as well!) To register visit: https://menalivebalm.org/

For those of you who are not familiar with Men Alive!, they are a gathering of men who meet to be encouraged and strengthened through the study of God's Word. Men Alive! serves the WELS Michigan District by holding an annual rally. The annual one-day rally features worship, Bible study, keynote address, presentations, good food, and fellowship. The annual rally provides an opportunity to contribute to outreach and service opportunities for men.

Sisters in Christ Retreat: Registration is now open for the fifth annual retreat, April 10th - 12th, being held at the Park Place Hotel & Convention Center in Traverse City. Visit www.SistersInChristRetreat.org for more information. Packets are also available on the hall table.

Travel with WELS Groups: Interested in traveling with members of your faith family? The OWLS (WELS Seniors) is partnering with Father's World Tours to offer several group tours that incorporate daily devotion and connections with local WELS ministries. We have three trips ready to register and we’d love to have you along:

• Spring Training in Arizona…February 20-27

• Horsin’ Around in Kentucky…April 17-26 from New Ulm or April 18-25 from Milwaukee

• Adventures in Alaska…July 20-August 4 Trips are open to WELS members of all ages.

Visit www.fathersworldtours.com or contact us to learn more: (steve@fathersworldtours.com or 507-217-1731)

Church Council Notes: 11/11/25

The meeting was called to order by President Lane.
Pastor opened with a reading from Isaiah, chapter
The November minutes were read and approved.

Elder’s Report read by Luke Stehle

• Luke is the head elder for 2026

• Duties and responsibilities were reviewed for the new elders

• We reviewed the shut ins that were visited for 2025

• Pastor Bare will be part of the Lenten rotation

• There is a need for the BIC class – Pastor Bare is currently reviewing the material for it.

• We are adding more people to help with the creating the power points for church services.

• We are looking at getting the supplemental package for hymnsoft for the blue hymnal.

• Elders report was approved as read.

Evangelism Report: – read by Pastor Bare

• Fed 28th we will have Pastor Berger at 10:00 am for a presentation on Friendship Evangelism

• There was an idea brought forward to see who had musical abilities in the congregation to look at a potential for contemporary style service on occasion.

  • It was noted that our church layout is not ideal for a contemporary ‘band’

  • This idea is only preliminary at this time.

• Evangelism report was accepted as read

B.A.L.M. Report - No report

Board of Education Report– read by Rusty Rothfuss

• Rusty Rothfuss was elected chairman of the Board of Ed

• We have started review on the survey that went out to school families

• We also discussed the upcoming basketball tournament that will be hosted here at St. Johns

• We are hoping to get some people form the congregation to help with the running of the tournament.

• Report was accepted as read

Trustees’ Report– read by Matt Pretzer

• Matt was elected chairman

• We went through the responsibilities of the trustees

• Mike Nowicki will be the trustee supporting the money counting each week

• We continued the discussion about the parsonages – ultimately if a decision was made to sell one of the parsonages, this would go before the voters

• Trustees report was accepted as read.

Treasurer’s Report– read by Kevin Peil

• Kevin Peil is currently doing payroll – we are going to need someone to take on this role.

• Kevin is going to create some tutorial videos for future people in the office.

• Report was accepted as read

Pastor Report– Read by Pastor Bare

• Pastor Schweppe is assisting Pastor Bare with the shut in visits

• We had 8 deaths from Oct 28 through the end of the year

• We are working to get more of a rotation once a month with some of the pastors from MLS to rotate in with Pastor Bare

• The 6 pastors from the 6 churches will be in the rotation for the Lenten service

• A discussion was had if there would be a point in our calling for a pastor which we would consider going to the assignment board from WLS

• Report was accepted as read

Old Business

No old business.

New Business

• We discussed the replacement for the role of president.

• After discussing it, a motion was made to ask Larry Schwartz to serve as president of the council for the remainder of 2026.

• It was moved and supported, motion carried.

Meeting was adjourned at 7:45pm with the Lord’s Prayer

Respectfully submitted,
Eric Merkle