Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

There was a time that if a company said it was around 60 years, I was impressed!

That was before I turned 60 as have many of my friends. I have come to realize that the generation which once professed - "Don't believe anyone over 30" - is now the generation that is proclaiming that you can't believe anyone over 90!

Age, I remember being told, is relative. You're as old as you think and while I would like to believe that, I do realize that it takes longer to recover from exercise and I am now taking a lot more drugs.

The age of a Faith Community is usually measured from when it was chartered. Recently, I had the joy of preaching at Augsburg Lutheran Church, at one of the many events they have planned for their 150th Anniversary. Augsburg was a Swedish congregation in Northwest Indiana. St. John is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year. Founded in 1948 the first pastor was the Reverend Mr. Sam Diehl. He began the mission and built the present Worship Center. He was followed by the Reverend Mr. Richard G. Whonsetler. Pastor Whonsetler built the Education Wing and under his guidance St. John grew to almost 800 baptized. Pastor Diehl and Pastor Whonsetler served at St. John for almost 50 years. I am the third lead pastor of this congregation. I came in 1992. I build on the foundation established by Pastor Diehl and Pastor Whonsetler. St. John is a mission driven faith community. From the beginning we have always looked beyond our own walls to bring the message of God's Love in Jesus Christ to the whole world.

Join us in worship and celebrate God's continuing blessings.

See you in Church

Pastor Young

SERMON PLAYER

The Sermon Player allows you to hear sermons from St. John. There is an archive of material that you can download as a podcast or listen to while online. Check it out!