Our summer series on “seasons” now shifts to look at seasons of life. We begin at the beginning, with Birth and Baptism. The children’s sermon also begins at the beginning with the story of God creating the world.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Affirmations have been proven to provide great emotional and psychological benefit. The Bible is filled with hundreds of powerful passages that can be read as God’s affirmation of you. Take a quiet moment to read the above passage several times. Imagine God sitting with you and speaking the words directly to you. Let this affirmation rest in your heart and mind today. Return to these words from God again and again throughout your week.
Affirmations have been proven to provide great emotional and psychological benefit. The Bible is filled with hundreds of powerful passages that can be read as God’s affirmation of you. Take a quiet moment to read the above passage several times. Imagine God sitting with you and speaking the words directly to you. Let this affirmation rest in your heart and mind today. Return to these words from God again and again throughout your week.
The Evangelical Lutheran Worship book is not just a hymnal but also a beautiful prayer book. Every Monday for the week’s moving forward, Pastor Nate will be posting an image like the one above with a quote from one of our great church hymns. You are invited to use these posts as an opening to prayer– connect with God through these poetic expressions of worship and prayer.
Affirmations have been proven to provide great emotional and psychological benefit. The Bible is filled with hundreds of powerful passages that can be read as God’s affirmation of you. Take a quiet moment to read the above passage several times. Imagine God sitting with you and speaking the words directly to you. Let this affirmation rest in your heart and mind today. Return to these words from God again and again throughout your week.
The Children’s message this week is all about The Bible and how we learn about God through stories.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
“Thankfulness, Misplaced” by Pastor Nate
When I was 4 years old I lived on a dead end street with all retired families. However, there was a boy, let’s call him Joey, who would come to visit his grandparents from time to time. He was about five years older than me, but since I was the only boy on the street, he was more than willing to play when he came to visit. Needless to say, I looked up to Joey and did nearly anything he asked me to do without thinking twice about it.
One day, Joey was sitting on his porch while his grandma was picking weeds in her garden. I walked over and said hello. Joey said to me, “my grandma is being really nice to me today, we should go get her something to say thanks.” As usual, I followed along without question. We walked down the street until Joey noticed a house with an Easter egg display in their front lawn. He told me that we should take several of those eggs and give them to his grandmother. Once again, I followed along without questioning. Shortly after we had walked away from that house, our hands filled with eggs, a woman from down the street, who had witnessed the entire event, began yelling at us. Joey and I started to run, but the women eventually caught us and then informed my mother, and Joey’s grandmother, of our thievery.
Here’s why I’m sharing this story with you today: I think there are a lot of times where we as humans want to show God our thanks but we don’t always find the best ways to do this. Often times we try and show our thanks for God by going out and trying to convert all our friends, or by calling out the evil that we see in other people’s lives. Sometimes in our efforts to try and “win people for Jesus” we end up doing more harm to the Christian movement than good.
I think the strangest thing about Joey, me, and the Easter eggs, is that Joey thought stealing eggs for his grandmother was a good way to show his appreciation (and I followed along!). Wouldn’t his grandmother have figured out very quickly that these were stolen eggs? Wouldn’t it have made more sense for Joey to just help his grandmother in the garden?
“He has showed you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
We can make our faith so complicated, when really it’s quite simple. Joey and I wanted to show his grandmother that we were thankful. This is a good thing. In the same way, we want to show God that we are thankful. But we don’t need to over think this! What God desires more than anything else is for to act with mercy and justice and humility. Living our life like that is the best way to tell God, “Thanks”.
May we learn to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Amen.
Affirmations have been proven to provide great emotional and psychological benefit. The Bible is filled with hundreds of powerful passages that can be read as God’s affirmation of you. Take a quiet moment to read the above passage several times. Imagine God sitting with you and speaking the words directly to you. Let this affirmation rest in your heart and mind today. Return to these words from God again and again throughout your week.
Sermon July 5, 2020 – Pastor Nate
Pastor Nate’s full sermon from July 5, 2020 is based on 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 and John 21:15-19
This sermon is part of our 6 week series on the seasons of the Church Year, this week the focus was the season of Easter.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Affirmations have been proven to provide great emotional and psychological benefit. The Bible is filled with hundreds of powerful passages that can be read as God’s affirmation of you. Take a quiet moment to read the above passage several times. Imagine God sitting with you and speaking the words directly to you. Let this affirmation rest in your heart and mind today. Return to these words from God again and again throughout your week.
The Evangelical Lutheran Worship book is not just a hymnal but also a beautiful prayer book. Every Monday for the week’s moving forward, Pastor Nate will be posting an image like the one above with a quote from one of our great church hymns. You are invited to use these posts as an opening to prayer– connect with God through these poetic expressions of worship and prayer.
Children’s Message for 7/12/20
This week we explore the season of Pentecost as we continue through the liturgical seasons of the church year. Our story for the children’s sermon this week is “The Friend of Little Children” from the Jesus Storybook Bible.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Affirmations have been proven to provide great emotional and psychological benefit. The Bible is filled with hundreds of powerful passages that can be read as God’s affirmation of you. Take a quiet moment to read the above passage several times. Imagine God sitting with you and speaking the words directly to you. Let this affirmation rest in your heart and mind today. Return to these words from God again and again throughout your week.
This week we consider the last of the liturgical seasons, Pentecost. The Children’s sermon is all remembering to have faith like a child.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
“Chipping Away” by Pastor Nate
No doubt, you’ve seen the famous sculpture of King David created by the artist Michelangelo. Just in case you haven’t here’s a picture:
It’s widely considered to be one of the most remarkable sculptures ever. Even today, 500 years after it was first sculpted, it is still consider a masterpiece with no equal. Legend has it that after the work was completed in 1504 many people would ask Michelangelo, “how in the world did you ever do this?”
And Michelangelo would say something like, “Oh, it wasn’t all that difficult. I ran across this huge stone in the quarry. And I saw David in it. So, I had the stone brought back to my studio and month after month, I very carefully—chipped away everything that wasn’t David.”
I like to think that it is the same way with our relationship with God. I’ve heard it said that Genesis 1:27 is one of the most important verses in the bible, and it speaks to this idea from Michelangelo, it reads,
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.“
The implications of this verse are huge. Much like Michelangelo and his statue of King David, God has created us in God’s image and is slowly chipping away at all that isn’t truly us.
We all lump on a variety of different things to our being. We try to be popular, we try and fit in, we try and like the things we are supposed to like and often times it leaves us totally confused about who we are and what we’re supposed to be doing with this life. But this wasn’t God’s intent! We are created in the image of God! And that means that God desires for us to discover the people that we were truly created to be.
By building a relationship with God we allow God to chip away at all the stuff that is not a part of our true being.
Pastor and author Rob Bell puts it this way: “Your job is the relentless pursuit of who God made you to be.”
God has a purpose and identity for each and every one of us and it might take some chipping away, but through God’s love and grace we can all begin to discover the Imagine of God that lives within ourselves and one another.
May we pursue our true being, and allow God to chip away at everything else that gets in the way. Amen.
Affirmations have been proven to provide great emotional and psychological benefit. The Bible is filled with hundreds of powerful passages that can be read as God’s affirmation of you. Take a quiet moment to read the above passage several times. Imagine God sitting with you and speaking the words directly to you. Let this affirmation rest in your heart and mind today. Return to these words from God again and again throughout your week.
Sermon June 28, 2020 – Pastor Nate
Pastor Nate’s full sermon from June 28, 2020 is based on Luke 15:1-3;11-32.
This sermon is part of our 6 week series on the seasons of the Church Year, this week the focus was the season of Lent.
(Source: https://player.vimeo.com/)
Where do we see ourselves in Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son?
How do we feel when grace and forgiveness are extended to someone else?
To listen to Pastor Nate’s full sermon from 6/28/20 (based on Luke 15:13-;11-32) click on the “sermon” tab above.
Where is God during this season of our lives?
How do we make sense of this strange moment?
Listen to Pastor Gary’s full sermon for 5/10/20, based on Jeremiah 29:1;4-14 and John 14:1-7 by clicking the Sermons tab above.
How can we allow God to author New Beginnings in us and in our world?
Listen to the Pastor Gary’s full sermon from June 7 by clicking the Sermons tab above.