St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church
Trenton, New Jersey
St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church is a community of believers that is rooted in God’s unconditional grace and love, striving to share God’s light of hope and salvation to scatter the darkness wherever it is found, through word and deed.
"Not Just Going to Church, but BEING the Church"
Click Here For
Reopening information &
Upcoming Events!!
In Person Worship
August 1st 9:30AM
Guidelines for outdoor Worship
Sunday Bulletin (Click on PDF)
General Guidelines for Indoor Worship
Face coverings are mandatory
You can choose sit away from people not in your own households.
Maintain physical distancing
Passing the Peace: a peace sign
No Fellowship hour or lingering after Worship.
Communion: have your hand cupped for prepackaged communion to be placed in your hands. The .pastor will come to you. Then we will take elements together.
As a Lutheran church body, Saint Bart's professes belief in the "priesthood of all believers" as reflected in Martin Luther's To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, that all baptized persons have equal access to God and are all called to use their gifts to serve the body of Christ. All are welcome here and we embrace the diversity of the beloved community.
At the same time faith does not close our minds to the world and our hearts to others. We continue to listen to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. We listen to the witness of others and we watch for the ways God is active in the world around us. Faith opens a place for engaging others in conversation, for seeking the truth, for asking questions and speaking love in word and deed.
Faith A living, daring confidence in God’s grace. When we about faith, we are talking about the relationship God’s Holy Spirit creates with us. It’s a relationship where God’s promise of steadfast love and mercy in Jesus opens us to a life of bold trust in God and joyful, generous service to everyone we know and meet in daily life.
As a Lutheran church body, Saint Bart's professes belief in the "priesthood of all believers" as reflected in Martin Luther's To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, that all baptized persons have equal access to God and are all called to use their gifts to serve the body of Christ. All are welcome here and we embrace the diversity of the beloved community.
Worship
Sundays
In Person &
FB Live:
9:30am
BIBLE STUDY
THE GOSPEL READING FOR THE COMING SUNDAY AND SOME QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT ARE POSTED EVERY WEDNESDAY. WE HAVE RESTARTED OUR IN-PERSON BIBLE STUDY ON FRIDAY NIGHTS AT 7:00 P.M. IN FELLOWSHIP HALL, AND WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU JOIN US. YOU CAN ALSO SHARE YOUR ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS BY EMAILING THEM TO:
ALL OF OUR RESPONSES WILL BE COMPILED (ANONYMOUSLY) AND ADDED TO THE POSTING ON SATURDAY. WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL JOIN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE GOSPEL READING EACH WEEK AND CHECK OUT THE RESPONSES EACH SATURDAY!
BIBLE STUDY FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 1, 2021
PRAYER: Holy Father, by the power of your Holy Spirit, prepare our hearts and minds to receive all that You want us to learn. As we read your word, shine on us the light of your truth. May we gain a deeper understanding of who You are and what your will is in each of our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
CONTEXT: As we will see in the coming weeks, John, Chapter 6 is an evolving revelation of who Jesus is. The day after the feeding of the five thousand, the crowd is again looking for Jesus and has trailed around the lake to find Him. Realizing that the crowd has a faulty understanding of who He is, Jesus encourages them (and us) to look beyond the bread that can satisfy only physical hunger, and to place their faith in the “bread of God”, which provides eternal life.
READING: John 6:24-35
24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Why do you think the people came looking for Jesus in verses 24-25? What might have been going through their minds?
2. When have you done the same thing Jesus accuses the crowd of in verse 26? Why do you think we get so stuck in the physical realm rather than the spiritual realm?
3. With regard to verse 27, what are some examples of worldly foods - foods that perish? What are some examples of foods that Jesus provides - foods that endure?
4. What do you think Jesus means in verse 27 when He says that “God the Father has set his seal” on Him? When might we have actually seen that occur in the Gospels?
5. Why do you think verses 28-29 are so difficult for us human beings to accept? Why might it have been even harder for the Jews? How can we accurately describe the relationship between “faith” and “works”?
6. Why do you think the people bring up the “manna” from the Old Testament in verse 31? What do you make of Jesus’ answer in verse 32? What was the distinction they missed?
7. What does it mean to truly “believe”? Once we as Christians understand that Jesus is the Bread of Life and we partake of Him, in what ways does it change who we are and how we live?
8. What one truth from this reading spoke to you the strongest, and how will you put it to work?
As restrictions are being lifted from
the Corona Virus Pandemic,
Saint Bartholomew's
has been gearing towards opening!
Stay connected and log in to see how we will be safely meeting again.
Services will be held in person and streamed
on our Facebook page live.
Click on the Blue icon below!
SUMMER 2021 NEWSLETTER
IS HERE!
Click on the link Below!
