Saint John's Quincy Wisconsin

06/17/2026

ing, Because His Love Never Fails
The Introit for this Sunday begins with worship: “I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD forever; with my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 89:1)
The psalmist doesn’t wait for life to improve before he sings. He sings because God’s steadfast love has already been proven. Israel had seen that love in God’s mighty acts. He rescued them from the power of Egypt, crushing their enemies, and establishing the throne of David. Through David and Solomon, God gave His people
wisdom, protection, and blessing. Every victory, every deliverance, every moment of peace was a reminder: God keeps His promises.
Psalm 89 goes on to describe the people who truly know this God: “Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your face.” (Psalm 89:15)
To “know the festal shout” is to recognize the sound of God’s salvation, the joyful cry that God is with His people. They walk in the light of His face, guided by His presence, strengthened by His grace. The psalm says they rejoice in His name all day long because He Himself is the glory of their strength. Their shield, their protection, and their king.
If Israel had reason to sing, how much more do we. For us, an even greater kingdom has come—the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Son of David and the Son of God. This kingdom arrived without our asking, purely by God’s mercy. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God has brought us under the reign of the true King whose throne truly is forever.
Christ is risen, ascended, and reigning, even now, though hidden. And from His throne He pours out the Holy Spirit, who rules our hearts, comforts our sorrows, strengthens our faith, and makes us alive through the forgiveness of our sins.
So we join the psalmist: We sing of the steadfast love of the Lord. We make known His faithfulness. We rejoice in His name. We walk in the light of His face. We rest under His shield. We live in His kingdom.
Lord God, Your steadfast love and faithfulness surround us. Open our hearts to rejoice in Your name, to walk in the light of Your presence, and to trust the strength You provide. Let our lives be a song of praise to Jesus Christ, our risen and reigning King. Amen.

06/15/2026

Peace with God in a Divided World

Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:34 startle us: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” He is correcting a false assumption about His mission. The grammar itself sharpens the warning: “Don’t even begin to imagine…” Jesus is not denying the peace He gives, but He is warning us of the divisions that will infiltrate our families for the sake of Jesus and His Gospel.

The New Testament is clear: true peace with God has been secured in Christ through His substitutionary suffering, death, and resurrection. By His cross, He reconciled us to God. By His Spirit, He gives peace with God that surpasses all understanding.

But Jesus also teaches that the very peace He gives does not always produce peace around us. The “sword” in Matthew 10:34 is not a call to violence but a picture of division. When one comes to faith in Christ, loyalties shift. Families, friendships, and cultures realign around Him. Some resist his grace others welcome His grace. The same gospel divides households. The peace we have with God can create tension with those who do not believe in Jesus.

This is the cost of following the One who gave His life on the cross, for us. And even in the division, His peace remains: steady, deep, unbreakable.

Lord Jesus, thank You for giving us peace through Your cross and resurrection. Keep our faith remains strong when following You brings division or pain. Fill us with Your Spirit so that Your peace may rule within us, even as the world around us is divided because of the Gospel. Hold us close and draw our loved ones to Yourself. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

06/13/2026

Seen, Felt, Loved

When he saw the crowds, he (Jesus) had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36

Compassion is not a soft feeling or a passing emotion. In Scripture, it is a Spirit stirred movement of the heart that leads to merciful action. It is the deep inner response of God Himself.

In the Gospels, compassion is always the turning point. Jesus sees → Jesus feels → Jesus responds. He heals the sick, feeds the hungry, teaches, and comforts the grieving. Every act of mercy flows from Christ’s compassionate heart.

The early church understood this. They cared for orphans, widows, the sick, and the abandoned because they believed this: Jesus moved toward hurting people, so we must too. Hospitals, charity, and missions were born from His example.

And for us living in a century marked by exhaustion, anxiety, and quiet suffering. His compassion still speaks.

Real compassion:
• Sees people with understanding, not indifference.
• Feels their burden instead of ignoring it.
• Acts in ways that reflect God’s will, even when it costs something.

If you are suffering today, hear this: You are not unseen, unfelt, or untouched by God. And if you follow Christ, His compassion is not just something you admire, it is something you embody.

Lord Jesus, Thank You for seeing us, feeling for us, and moving toward us in your holy compassion. Stir our hearts by Your Spirit so we may reflect Your compassion and mercy to those who suffer. Make us like you, people who see, feel, and act for others in Your name. Amen.

06/12/2026

Step into the Joy of Knowing God

Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3

Psalm 100:3 reminds us that worship grows out of knowing who God is. We do not worship an unknown deity or a distant force. We worship the God who has made Himself known in His Word and in His Son. And this psalm gives us four truths every believer can rest in.

First, we know that He is God. There is only one true God, the LORD who revealed Himself to Israel and who calls us to trust Him alone. This is the foundation of all worship: God is God, and we are not.

Second, we know that He created us. We are not accidents or afterthoughts. We were formed by His hands, made in His image, crafted with purpose and dignity. Worship begins when we remember that our very existence is a gift.

Third, we know that we are His people. Through Christ, God has claimed us as His own—a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a treasured possession. We belong to Him because He has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Fourth, we know that we are the sheep of His pasture. He cares for us, leads us, protects us, and holds us. We are never abandoned. We live under the gentle hand of the Good Shepherd.

All of this knowledge flows from God’s own character. We know Him because He delights to be known. We know Him because He reveals Himself as faithful, merciful, and true. We know Him because He speaks in Scripture, showing us His ways even when we do not fully understand them. And we know Him most clearly because the Father has revealed Himself through His Son. In Jesus Christ, God’s heart, God’s mercy, and God’s truth stand before us in human flesh.

The Son makes the Father known, not through our effort, but through God’s grace.

So when Psalm 100:3 says, “Know that the LORD is God,” it is inviting us into worship. To know Him is to trust Him. To trust Him is to praise Him. And to praise Him is to live in the joy of being His.

This knowledge moves your heart to worship. He is God, He made you, He claims you, and He cares for you.

Lord, let the knowledge of You are stir our hearts to worship you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

06/11/2026

“When We Could Do Nothing, Christ Did Everything”

Paul says that “while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6) That word helpless is not exaggeration. Because of original sin, every human being is born spiritually powerless. We were not just sick, or just needing a boost. We were not just struggling, not just needing a little inspiration. We were spiritually dead—unable to love God, unable to choose Him, unable to do a single thing that counted as righteousness before Him. Original sin didn’t just bend us; it broke us. It left us unable to lift even a finger toward God.

But into that helplessness, God acted. Christ did not wait for us to improve. He did not wait for us to seek Him. He stepped into our darkness while we were still enemies. On the cross, He carried the full weight of our sin our every failure, every rebellion, every moment of unbelief. And in His resurrection, He broke the power of death that held us captive. All of this happened before we believed, before we repented, before we even knew we needed saving. Grace always moves first.

And now, by grace alone through faith, something new begins. The same Jesus who died and rose for us now lives in us. His Spirit gave us the gift of faith where there was only deadness. His forgiveness frees us from fear. His love reshapes our desires. We do not begin to serve God in order to earn His favor; we begin to serve because His favor has already been poured out on us in Christ. The cross removes our guilt, the resurrection gives us new life, and faith receives both as pure gift.

So when Paul says…
• Romans 5:9 — “Much more then, since we have now been justified by His blood…”
• Romans 5:10 — “Much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.”
• Romans 5:15 — “But the free gift is not like the trespass… much more have the grace of God… abounded for many.”

That repeated “much more” means this: The same grace that saved you when you were completely helpless is the grace that now empowers you to live for God. Find rest in this good news: because you are accepted by God through Jesus, you now live and work from His gracious acceptance, not for it.

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for saving me when I was helpless and could do nothing for You. Strengthen my faith in Your cross and resurrection, and by Your grace help me live a life that reflects Your love. Amen.

06/10/2026

When God’s Blessing Overflows

Let the peoples praise you, O God’ let all the peoples praise you! Psalm 67:3

Psalm 67 rises from a moment when Israel stood before God in worship, receiving again the ancient priestly blessing: “God be gracious to us and bless us; make His face shine upon us.” In the Temple courts, with music rising from David’s guilds and the harvest gathered in, Israel remembered who they were—a people carried by God’s mercy, chosen not for privilege but for purpose. God had blessed them so that His salvation might be known among all nations.

But what Israel prayed for in Psalm 67, Christ fulfills completely. He is the true Israel, the One in whom God’s face shines fully and forever. In His death and resurrection, the blessing of God does not merely rest on one nation—it breaks open for the whole world. The grace Israel longed to share is now poured out through the crucified and risen Lord, who sends His Church to carry His mercy to every tribe and tongue.

In Christ, Psalm 67 becomes our song. We do not pray, “Bless us so we may keep Your gifts,” but “Bless us so that others may see You.” The finished work of Jesus turns us outward. His forgiveness frees us from self concern. His resurrection gives us courage. His Spirit makes us a kingdom of priests, just as God promised at Sinai. And now, through ordinary Christians in ordinary places, God answers the psalmist’s prayer: “Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You.”

The blessing of God has reached us in Christ—and through us, God reaches others.

Lord Jesus Christ, You are the face of God’s mercy and the fullness of His blessing. Shine upon us with Your forgiveness, fill us with Your peace, and send us to reflect Your grace to all people. Make our lives a witness to Your saving love, that the nations may praise You and rejoice in Your salvation. Amen.

06/08/2026

A Place to Rest Your Burdened Heart

You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Exodus 19:4
When Israel stood at the foot of Sinai, God reminded them of everything He had already done: That He broke the power of Egypt, opened the sea so His people could cross on dry ground, fed them in the wilderness, and carried them like an eagle carries her young. Before they could offer Him anything in return, He had already carried them with a mercy stronger than their fear.

That same mercy comes to us in Jesus Christ. He is the One who lifts us out of the weight of our sin, who catches us when we fall, who takes the judgment we deserved into His own body on the cross, and who brings us saving faith in Him. And He still carries us today. Through His Word that speaks forgiveness, through Baptism where He washes away our sin and names us as His own, and through His Supper where He feeds us with His very body and blood that was given and shed for us, for the forgiveness of sins. These are not distant symbols but the means through which Christ keeps us as His own.

The heart of the promise is this: the God who rescues you is the God who carries you—day by day, step by step—through Jesus Christ you Savior and Lord.

Lord Jesus, You are the One who lifts the weary, catches the fallen, and carries us with a mercy stronger than our sin. Draw every heart—seeking, doubting, or burdened—into the safety of Your grace, and bring us and keep us in this saving faith. Amen.

06/06/2026

The Savior Who Makes Us Whole

But when he (Jesus) heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Matthew 9:12

Jesus is not merely stating the obvious. Behind these words lies a deep spiritual truth: He is the Physician of souls, and only those who recognize their sickness can receive His healing mercy.

When Jesus speaks of “those who are well,” He is referring to those who think they are already righteous. Many in Jesus’ day believed they were spiritually well because they kept religious traditions and compared themselves favorably to others. They didn’t see their need for mercy. Jesus’ words remind us that the greatest barrier to mercy is the belief that we don’t need it. Only when we admit our sin do we discover the healing He freely gives.

The picture of a doctor is important. It shows Jesus as the One who heals not only bodies but broken hearts and sinful lives. Jesus uses the picture of a physician because it speaks to our deepest need. We are not simply people who make mistakes—we are people wounded by sin, unable to heal ourselves. Christ comes as the One who diagnoses our sinful condition and restores us with compassion.

He is the Great Physician, and His healing work is seen throughout the Gospels as He restores the sick, the hurting, and the lost. Every healing story in the Gospels points beyond the physical miracle to a greater spiritual truth: Jesus came to restore broken lives. Whether He opened blind eyes, cleansed lepers, raised the dead, or forgave sins each act revealed His power to heal the soul. The Great Physician still works for you today, binding up your wounds, forgiving your sin, and giving you new life that you may return to Him in faith.

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, Great Physician of our souls, I come to You in my need. Heal what is broken, forgive what is sinful, and restore what has grown cold. Teach me to trust Your mercy more than my own strength and draw me back to You each day. Thank You for being the One who meets me in my weakness and makes me whole. Amen.

06/05/2026

What if God Is in Your Story?

66Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments… 68You are good and do good; teach me your statutes… 71It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. Psalm 119:66; 68; 71

Psalm 119 reads like the open journal of a believer walking with God through pressure, affliction, and longing. He clings to God’s Word as his lifeline. The psalmist is surrounded by scoffers, weighed down by suffering, and tempted to drift. Yet again and again he turns to the Lord with the same simple cry: “Teach me.” He knows his own weakness, he feels the pull of sin, and he recognizes that without God’s instruction he will lose his way.

What makes Psalm 119 so powerful is that it is both honest and hopeful. The psalmist admits his wandering, his weariness, and his need for help, but he also testifies that God’s Word brings life, steadiness, and joy. Affliction has humbled him, opposition has sharpened him, and longing has driven him deeper into the Scriptures. Through every line, he discovers that God’s commands are not burdens but gifts, a light for the path, strength for the heart, and comfort in the night.

Psalm 119 invites us into that same posture. It calls us to bring our confusion, our temptations, our fears, and our failures to the God who speaks. It teaches us that wisdom is learned, not earned; that understanding is given, not achieved; and that the God who commands is the God who comforts. As we read this psalm, we join the ancient prayer of every believer who has ever sought God in the midst of life’s pressures: “Teach me good judgement and knowledge…You are good and do good…It is good that I was afflicted that I might learn your statues.” Psalm 119:66; 68; 71

Lord Jesus, draw every searching heart to Yourself. Give us ears to hear Your Word, courage to turn back to You, and faith to trust Your mercy. Heal, restore, and renew us by Your grace. Amen.

06/04/2026

https://saintjohnsquincywigmail.myanswers.com/jungle-journey/
We invite the community to bring their kids, grandkids and neighborhood friends to our VBS this summer, July 15-17. Click the link below to find the registration form!

Every day, our kids are bombarded with questions: Did God really create everything? Why do bad things happen? Was Noah’s ark real? Why do I need to be saved? Can I trust the Bible? At this VBS, your kids will explore the biblical answers to these questions as they set off on an epic adven...