This Sunday

at St. John's:

Zacchaeus

Throws a Party

Friends,

As you recognized my ordination anniversary date and expressed thanks for my service to St. John's as pastor, thank you for your kind and encouraging card and notice during worship and the reception last Sunday. I appreciate the opportunity to serve such a generous congregation.

This Sunday the Rev. Dr. Valerie Bell is preaching on Luke 19:1-10. The sermon is "Zacchaeus Throws a Party."

What gets me is how little that short man had to do before Jesus stopped under the sycamore and called him by name. He climbs a tree to see. Jesus invites himself to dinner. Before the meal is over, half of everything is gone to the poor. Salvation shows up as a party that changes the guest.

I'm away this Sunday for continuing education, so you'll be in Valerie's and Linda Herron's good hands.

Come worship this Sunday. Linda is liturgist, and you'll sing Joyful, Joyful and I Come with Joy. Nehemiah says the joy of the Lord is your strength, and this service leans all the way into that.

Peace,

Pastor Jon Burnham

St. John's Presbyterian Church, Houston

5020 West Bellfort Avenue Houston, TX 77035

(713) 723-6262 / stjohnspresby.org

P.S. The service will be live-streamed

on our church website

and on our St. John's Facebook page.

St. John's Presbyterian Church

October 18, 2026

21st Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering

Prelude,

Alina Klimaszewska, organ

*Call To Worship,

The Rev. Dr. Valerie Bell

Pastor: This day is holy, Ezra told the weeping people. Go home and eat the good food and drink the sweet wine, and send a plate to everybody who has nothing on the stove.

People: Thanks be to God, whose joy is our strength.

Pastor: A short man with a bad reputation climbed a sycamore tree just to get a look, and Jesus stopped under the branches and called him by name.

People: Thanks be to God, who knows our names before we come down.

Pastor: And before the meal was over that man was on his feet, giving half of everything away and paying back four times what he took.

People: Thanks be to God, who throws the party that changes the guest.

Opening Prayer

*Hymn 611

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

1 Joyful, joyful, we adore thee,

God of glory, Lord of love!

Hearts unfold like flowers before thee,

opening to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;

drive the dark of doubt away.

Giver of immortal gladness,

fill us with the light of day.

2 All thy works with joy surround thee;

earth and heaven reflect thy rays;

stars and angels sing around thee,

center of unbroken praise.

Field and forest, vale and mountain,

flowery meadow, flashing sea,

chanting bird and flowing fountain,

call us to rejoice in thee.

3 Mortals, join the happy chorus

which the morning stars began.

Love divine is reigning o'er us,

joining all in heaven's plan.

Ever singing, march we onward,

victors in the midst of strife.

Joyful music leads us sunward

in the triumph song of life.

Prayer of Confession,

Liturgist Rev. Linda Herron

Gracious God, we confess that we have stood in the grumbling crowd more often than we have climbed the tree. We have kept score of who deserves your company and wept over your law instead of feasting on your joy. We have taken more than our share and called it business. Forgive us, and call us down by name. Amen.

(Silent Confession)

Assurance of Pardon

*Glory Be to the Father

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end. Amen, amen.

*Passing the Peace

The Word

Prayer for Illumination

First Scripture Reading,

Nehemiah 8:9-12

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, "Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved." And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

Special Music

Sermon Scripture,

Luke 19:1-10

He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."

The Word of the Lord for us today.

Thanks be to God.

Sermon,

“Zacchaeus Throws a Party”

The Rev. Dr. Valerie Bell

*Hymn 515

I Come with Joy, 1, 3 and 5

1 I come with joy, a child of God,

forgiven, loved, and free,

the life of Jesus to recall,

in love laid down for me,

in love laid down for me.

3 As Christ breaks bread and bids us share,

each proud division ends.

The love that made us, makes us one,

and strangers now are friends,

and strangers now are friends.

5 Together met, together bound

by all that God has done,

we’ll go with joy, to give the world

the love that makes us one,

the love that makes us one.

*The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, 

Maker of heaven and earth,

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord, 

who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, 

born of the Virgin Mary, 

suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

was crucified, dead, and buried; 

he descended into hell; 

the third day he rose again from the dead; 

he ascended into heaven, 

and sitteth on the right hand 

of God the Father Almighty; 

from thence he shall come 

to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; 

the holy catholic Church; 

the communion of saints; 

the forgiveness of sins; 

the resurrection of the body, 

and the life everlasting. 

Amen.

Prayers of the People,

Rev. Bell

Lord’s Prayer,

Rev. Bell

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors;

and lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power,

and the glory forever.

Amen.

Welcome and Announcements

Offering

*Doxology, Hymn 609

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.

Praise God, all creatures high and low.

Alleluia, alleluia!

Praise God, in Jesus fully known:

Creator, Word, and Spirit one.

Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

*Prayer after the Offering

Sending

*Hymn 626

As the Deer

1 As the deer pants for the water,

so my soul longs after you.

You alone are my heart’s desire,

and I long to worship you.

Refrain:

You alone are my strength, my shield;

to you alone may my spirit yield.

You alone are my heart’s desire,

and I long to worship you.

2 I want you more than gold or silver,

Only You can satisfy;

You alone are the real joy giver

And the apple of my eye. (Refrain)

3 You’re my friend and you are my brother

Even though you are a king;

I love you more than any other,

So much more than anything. (Refrain)

*Charge and Benediction

*Postlude

Announcements

Church Phone Number Restored

Our church phone number is working again. You can reach the office at 713-723-6262.

St. John’s Holiday Gift Market, Nov. 8, noon to 2 pm

Come browse the offerings of at least 15 vendors and share a light lunch. This market is a St. John’s tradition for many decades!

Oil for Our Lamps: A Tuesday Zoom Group

A small group of women at St. John's has met to study and pray together for fourteen years. The group grew out of our churchwide Unbinding the Gospel study in 2012. It began meeting at the church on Tuesday afternoons, moved to Zoom when COVID struck, and has stayed there since. After a recent sermon, the group took a new name: Oil for Our Lamps.

The group now meets on Zoom on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. By November they hope to begin a study of the book of James, using the Life Change Bible Study Series book and study guide. New members are warmly welcome.

To learn more, speak with any member of the group: Libby Adams, Shirley Boyd, Alvina Hamilton, Ann Hardy, Gerry Jump, Pat Ragan, or Fran Urquhart. Or contact Shirley at 713-598-0818 or saboyd2@att.net to receive the Zoom invitation and order a book.

One Hope Academy Spirit Day, Oct. 22, 6 pm, Tapster’s Grill, 4520 Beechnut

Join One Hope Schools for a community dinner at 6 pm. There will be a kids’ table set up with coloring and activities. 20% of proceeds go to One Hope Schools.

One Hope Schools Harvest Festival, Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 am to noon

One Hope Schools invites the whole community to its free Harvest Festival on Saturday, November 7, from 10 a.m. to noon on the One Hope Preschool campus, 5020 West Bellfort Ave. There will be a bounce house, games, a petting zoo, and food, with fun for all ages. Bring the grandkids and the neighbors.

Greeters and Ushers Needed

Calling all smiling faces to serve the Lord as greeters and ushers! The Worship Committee is looking for volunteers to enter the ministry of greeting and ushering during our Sunday morning Worship services. It is a great way to meet folks in the church and to practice your gifts of hospitality and friendship. Participation is on a rotating basis and the schedule will accommodate those times that you will not be able to serve due to a conflict. Contact Lynne Parsons Austin for more information. Your energy and smiling face is needed.

Christmas Shoeboxes for Seafarers

Each year the Houston International Seafarers Center delivers Christmas shoeboxes to the crews of ships in the Port of Houston. Last year it was 8,901 boxes, for sailors from 68 nations, many of them months away from home at the holidays. Chaplains and ship visitors carry the boxes aboard by hand.

St. John’s is collecting again this year. Peter Sparaco will set a box in the Narthex. Please bring new, unopened, full-size items such as body wash, deodorant, disposable razors, shaving cream, toothbrushes and toothpaste, lip balm, lotion, socks, new caps or T-shirts, playing cards, word-search or sudoku books, pocket notebooks, flashlights with batteries, non-perishable snacks, and Texas souvenirs. The cutoff date for donations will be announced in a coming Epistle.

Sermon Series: Generous Trouble

We began a new sermon series for the stewardship season: Generous Trouble: When Kingdom Economics Interrupt Our Plans. Scripture keeps circling back to money, and it rarely leaves us comfortable. A widow gives her last coin. A rich man walks away sad. A whole community gathers only what it needs and no more. Nine weeks, nine stories, one question underneath all of them: what happens when God's economy interrupts ours? We'll move from the Jubilee's reset button, through widows and rulers and a tax collector who gives away half of everything he owns, to All Saints' Sunday and the Reign of Christ. Along the way, expect a few sermons that unsettle before they comfort. That's the trouble worth having. Mark your calendar and come ready to be interrupted.

Happy Birthday

Dave Muanza (Oct 1)

Virgil Fisher (Oct 2)

Christine Nelson and Amy Caraballo (Oct 7)

Barm Alsbrook (Oct 9)

Alice Rubio and Jeffery Herbert (Oct 10)

Stewart Hall (Oct 14)

Brendan Mulder (Oct 15)

Elizabeth Ragan (Oct 16)

Atillio Ator (Oct 19)

Fran Urquhart and Jonathan Hughes (Oct 24)

James Adams (Oct 25)

Joene Moore and Nathan Herbert (Oct 28)

Happy Anniversary

Dan and Linda Herron (Oct 11)

Barm and Karen Alsbrook (Oct 15)

Prayer Concerns

Kelly McDowell and family, Shirley Boyd’s nephew, health

Kathleen Captain, health

Ken Krueger

Family of Betty Robinson

Linda Dobbin, health

Mary Hughes and family, in the loss of Mary’s brother Fred

Fran, her children and family of Brad Urquhart

Lisa, health

Sandy, health

Patti, health

Randy Finfrock, health

Alice's grandson, Marc, health

Gayle Morales, friend of Alice Rubio, recovering from hip surgery

Jessica Ivete Robles, friend of Alice Rubio, awaiting a kidney transplant

Phyllis Freeman, receiving hospice care in the Dallas area

Tom Edmondson and Kristi, his caregiver

Kelsey Wiltz, health

Scott Moore

Alice Rubio

St. John’s college students

Raina Bailey and the families in our PCHAS homes

One Hope Preschool families and staff

Katherine Kyle James, friend of Mark Swindler, health

Calendar

• Sunday, October 18, 21st Sunday after Pentecost
• 9:30 am Sunday School for Adults, Systematic Theology, Session Room
• 11:00 am Worship Service, live in sanctuary and on Facebook
• 12:00 pm Fellowship and Caring Committee Meets
• 1:30 pm Book Study on Zoom
• 3:30 pm Girl Scouts
• Tuesday, October 20
• 5:00 pm Exercise Group, Building 2
• Thursday, October 22
• 5:00 pm Exercise Class in Building 2
• 6:00 pm One Hope Academy Spirit Day, Tapster’s Grill
• 6:30 pm Gift of Empathy Class
• Sunday, October 25, 22nd Sunday after Pentecost
• 9:30 am Sunday School for Adults, Systematic Theology, Session Room
• 11:00 am Worship Service, live in sanctuary and on Facebook
• 1:30 pm Book Study, Zoom

Coming Events

• Monday, October 26, Healing Hearts, 11 am
• Wednesday, October 28, Men’s Group
• Sunday, November 1, All Saints’ Service
• Saturday, November 7, One Hope Preschool Harvest Festival
• Sunday, November 8, Holiday Gift Market