Morrison Zion Lutheran

Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7 or Text your names and the date to (920) 362-7118 or (920) 949-1038. 
 
Announcements for the week - http://www.mzluth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/weekly-announcement-April-25-2021.pdf 
 
4/25/21 - 4th Sunday of Easter - Acts 20:28-32 - Ignorance is Rolled Away! 
 
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The Easter Season 
 
After forty days of repentance and prayer, the Church bursts forth in jubilant praise at the Resurrection of our Lord. The Bride of Christ welcomes her Bridegroom back from the dead. Easter is as the pinnacle of the Church Year, the oldest festival and season celebrated by the worshipping Church. For a full week-of-weeks (49 days) the Church celebrates the resurrection of Christ on the Sundays of Easter which culminate on the 50th day, Pentecost. 
 
The Sunday - The readings with this Sunday begin a gradual transition from the Half Year of Our Lord to the Half Year of the Church, from the way that God won our salvation to the way we live our salvation. From now until Pentecost they focus on the nature of our relationship with the Risen Christ through his Word: the relationships of Shepherd and sheep, of Vine and branches, of Friend with friends, of Patron and protected. As sheep of the Good Shepherd we know his voice. His voice rolls ignorance away! 
 
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First Lesson: Acts 20:28-32 
The reading beautifully expands and applies the thoughts of the gospel lesson. It is the Word of grace that brings us into the sheepfold of Christ and preserves us there to life eternal. But we need to be on guard against those who would turn us aside from the Word of grace. The whole history of the Church and the modern religious scene give ample witness to this always relevant exhortation of the inspired apostle. In Advent we saw the Holy Office of the Ministry exalted and typified in the work of St. John the Baptist. Here that office again achieves prominence as the office which mirrors Christ’s prophetic office. The title pastor is a constant reminder of the nature of the office and of the relationship that should exist between shepherd and flock. 
 
Second Lesson: 1 Peter 5:1-4 
The shepherds should remember and follow the example of The Shepherd. The flock should value highly the love of God for the flock that he sends them such shepherds. If the reward for faithful shepherds is so great, then the love of The Shepherd for his under shepherds must also be very great. The shepherds should be encouraged by the promise and the flock should be both warned and comforted by that same promise. Just remember too: The glory is certain but it is promised for the future, not for the moment. Present glory is temporary; only that to come remains forever. Don’t be impatient. Be faithful! 
 
 
Gospel: Luke John 10:11-18 
The whole work of Jesus from Christmas to Easter had this in mind, that he should be and remain our Good Shepherd and we should be and remain his sheep. All in all, it’s a bad bargain for the shepherd! The hired hand acts rationally. He is worth more intrinsically and certainly to himself than a hundred sheep and shouldn’t die for any of them. In the case of Jesus that is true a thousand fold. But look what happens! Everything is upside down and backwards. He for whom the whole of creation exists freely and willingly sacrifices himself for the sheep who add nothing to his own infinite worth. The Father even agrees with that sacrifice. He loves the sheep, it would seem, even more than he loves the Shepherd! For it is his will that the Shepherd become the Good Shepherd in just this way. So much they love the flock! You would have to be a stone not to be moved by such love for you! Listen to his voice! It gives the life that he laid down and has now taken up again. 
 
 
 
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Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7 or Text your names and the date to (920) 362-7118 or (920) 949-1038.

Announcements for the week - http://www.mzluth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/weekly-announcement-April-25-2021.pdf

4/25/21 - 4th Sunday of Easter - Acts 20:28-32 - Ignorance is Rolled Away!

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The Easter Season 

After forty days of repentance and prayer, the Church bursts forth in jubilant praise at the Resurrection of our Lord. The Bride of Christ welcomes her Bridegroom back from the dead. Easter is as the pinnacle of the Church Year, the oldest festival and season celebrated by the worshipping Church. For a full week-of-weeks (49 days) the Church celebrates the resurrection of Christ on the Sundays of Easter which culminate on the 50th day, Pentecost.  

The Sunday - The readings with this Sunday begin a gradual transition from the Half Year of Our Lord to the Half Year of the C

4/25/21 - 4th Sunday of Easter - Acts 20:28-32 - Ignorance is Rolled Away!

Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7 or Text your names and the date to (920) 362-7118 or (920) 949-1038. 
 
Announcements for the week - http://www.mzluth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/weekly-announcement-April-18-2021.pdf 
 
4/18/21 - 3rd Sunday of Easter - Acts 12:1-19 - Distractions Are Rolled Away! 
 
--------- 
The Easter Season 
 
After forty days of repentance and prayer, the Church bursts forth in jubilant praise at the Resurrection of our Lord. The Bride of Christ welcomes her Bridegroom back from the dead. Easter is as the pinnacle of the Church Year, the oldest festival and season celebrated by the worshipping Church. For a full week-of-weeks (49 days) the Church celebrates the resurrection of Christ on the Sundays of Easter which culminate on the 50th day, Pentecost. 
 
The Sunday - Distractions are rolled away! The blessings of Easter are all ours through the Word, the effective means of grace! 
 
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First Lesson: Acts 12:1-19 
This is the same Peter who swore with an oath that he did not know Jesus so that he would avoid prison or worse. Look at him now! The resurrection of Christ and his abiding presence in the gospel has made a new man out of Peter. In prison Peter is calm and ready for whatever the Lord of history has in mind for him. This time what he has in mind is release. For the risen Christ rules history for the benefit of the Church; whatever serves the best interest of his people, that is what he permits, that is what he sends. This time—not every time—it is Peter’s release, so that he can strengthen those who have heard the Word by the Word. Then unafraid of what the future holds because the Word has strengthened him too, Peter goes elsewhere to proclaim it. So what might you fear? Hold fast to the Word and the risen and ruling Christ in it. Come prison, come death, come what may, he is risen and rules. He will not forsake you but remains with you through his Word. He will continue to rule so that you come to be where he is. 
 
Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 2:12-3:6 
The Roman generals and emperors came back from wars and led a triumphal procession through the streets of Rome with treasures of every kind: captured slaves or foreign rulers, exotic animals and gold and silver all on display. The apostles together with all those who proclaim the gospel look like the defeated. They have so many problems, set backs, and trials. But here they are with the gospel leading a triumphal procession through history. The coming of that gospel always has an effect. In some it is sweet incense to those brought to life by the message. For others, through their own fault, it is stench of death because they reject the message and its saving benefit. Where are you in that procession? The Word of God and its gifts are visible to your family, your friends, your co-workers, and the world only through the procession of those who hold to it and live it. Are you drawing by the sweet incense of the gospel? Are you repelling by your disgracing of the gospel by a life that contradicts it? 
 
Gospel: Luke 24:36-49 
From Easter Sunday until the Ascension Jesus emphasized in his discourses with the disciples the absolute necessity of the Word. Soon he would remove his visible presence. In this appearance he moves from the visible to the Word. He uses what they can see and touch as the bridge to the Word. The closer they are to his Word, the closer they will be to him. For everything that he is and did is enclosed in the Word. In revealing himself in the Word, he gives himself and all that he has to them. So that he may be with them and they with him, he performs the miracle, a miracle which the Holy Spirit will soon perform regularly. He opens the Scriptures so that they finally understand; without that miracle of the effective Word all remains darkness and foolishness. For how impossible everything he promised appears to reason! But with the effective Word, it all becomes both clear and powerful even beyond the creation of faith. Look at what Jesus sends them to do! 
 
 
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* New NO FEE electronic giving.* https://myvanco.vancopayments.com/cgi-bin/Vanco_ver3.vps?appver3=%20OKdCGZBJYpsCBoZoz5rakaYec2chL1Dmm-M9GmZKgDSujMcWeRQLKxtVuawnJ3eUYw7hSSHLKPgBJz2o0Pn-cTHuS6U_uUyWaBqpR_G-Ank9MboVt-jm5J4e-Hc8oOFf&cname=Morrison+Zion+Lutheran+Church&cadd1=7395+County+Rd+W&ccity=Greenleaf&cstate=WI&czip=54126&cein=391053005&ctid=504744921

Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7 or Text your names and the date to (920) 362-7118 or (920) 949-1038.

Announcements for the week - http://www.mzluth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/weekly-announcement-April-18-2021.pdf

4/18/21 - 3rd Sunday of Easter - Acts 12:1-19 - Distractions Are Rolled Away!

---------
The Easter Season 

After forty days of repentance and prayer, the Church bursts forth in jubilant praise at the Resurrection of our Lord. The Bride of Christ welcomes her Bridegroom back from the dead. Easter is as the pinnacle of the Church Year, the oldest festival and season celebrated by the worshipping Church. For a full week-of-weeks (49 days) the Church celebrates the resurrection of Christ on the Sundays of Easter which culminate on the 50th day, Pentecost.  

The Sunday - Distractions are rolled away! The blessings of Easter are all ours through the Word, the effective means of gr

4/18/21 - 3rd Sunday of Easter - Acts 12:1-19 - Distractions Are Rolled Away!

Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7 or Text your names and the date to (920) 362-7118 or (920) 949-1038. 
 
Announcements for the week - http://www.mzluth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/weekly-announcement-April-11-2021.pdf 
 
4/11/21 - 2nd Sunday of Easter - Acts 26:19-29 - Doubt Is Rolled Away! 
 
--------- 
The Easter Season 
 
After forty days of repentance and prayer, the Church bursts forth in jubilant praise at the Resurrection of our Lord. The Bride of Christ welcomes her Bridegroom back from the dead. Easter is as the pinnacle of the Church Year, the oldest festival and season celebrated by the worshipping Church. For a full week-of-weeks (49 days) the Church celebrates the resurrection of Christ on the Sundays of Easter which culminate on the 50th day, Pentecost. 
 
The Sunday - Jesus’ Resurrection Rolls Away Doubt! 
 
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First Lesson: Acts 26:19-29 
Paul looks like such a loser. He is in chains. His prospects of accomplishing anything in this appearance before the high and mighty are slim and none. Nevertheless the reality is altogether other than appearances. Paul is the one who has everything in the message he has brought; the high and mighty have nothing. In fact what they appear to have gets in the way of what they could have, peace with God through the light made known in the resurrection of Christ. But how sad! They think themselves too clever, too powerful, to bow before the Crucified. His peace and his peace ambassador make no sense to them, and they reject both. May none of us make that tragic and damning mistake! Peace is God’s to give in the work and message of Paul; warfare against God is however still in the power of man. Your peace is not in your outward beauty or strength or possessions or health or anything else; They are indeed as gifts of God, but not substitutes for peace with God. 
 
Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 15:12-22 
People think that the cemetery is peaceful. Apart from Christ’s resurrection the cemetery is anything but peaceful. It is the testimony of our utter defeat in the war against God that sums up life apart from Christ. Ah, but with the message of Christ in the gospel lesson, the cemetery can indeed be peaceful. Those who died in Christ already have the enjoyment in heaven of that peace which passes all understanding. No resurrection of Christ means no peace with God in this life and no gospel or blessed resurrection for us in the life to come. Ah, but Christ is risen! Peace is ours through all eternity! 
 
 
Gospel: John 20:19-31 
Jesus’ Easter greeting is much more than just the Hebrew Hello! (Shalom!). He does not merely wish what the word expresses; he gives it. And then he gives it again. And then he gives it to them to give to the world. What an amazing thing! He is so anxious that they get peace which they should then give. What unfit vessels they were when he called them. How unfit they still are. But that’s just as well! All glory goes to Christ and the power he plants in the Word. He comes to us in Easter, with his peace. He’s so anxious that we get it and get it yet again in the face of all that is in us which contradicts his peace: the warfare of our nature against his Word, the successes of the devil and the world in their assaults upon the soul, and on and on. Peace with God and peace with Jesus himself was the last thing that the disciples might have expected to hear and receive from Jesus that day. But now, the very first thing the disciples hear from the mouth of the risen Savior is: Peace! That’s even his message to Thomas and now with an exclamation point behind it to us who have not seen but by the power of the Word have nevertheless believed. 
 
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* New NO FEE electronic giving.* https://myvanco.vancopayments.com/cgi-bin/Vanco_ver3.vps?appver3=%20OKdCGZBJYpsCBoZoz5rakaYec2chL1Dmm-M9GmZKgDSujMcWeRQLKxtVuawnJ3eUYw7hSSHLKPgBJz2o0Pn-cTHuS6U_uUyWaBqpR_G-Ank9MboVt-jm5J4e-Hc8oOFf&cname=Morrison+Zion+Lutheran+Church&cadd1=7395+County+Rd+W&ccity=Greenleaf&cstate=WI&czip=54126&cein=391053005&ctid=504744921

Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7 or Text your names and the date to (920) 362-7118 or (920) 949-1038.

Announcements for the week - http://www.mzluth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/weekly-announcement-April-11-2021.pdf

4/11/21 - 2nd Sunday of Easter - Acts 26:19-29 - Doubt Is Rolled Away! 

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The Easter Season 

After forty days of repentance and prayer, the Church bursts forth in jubilant praise at the Resurrection of our Lord. The Bride of Christ welcomes her Bridegroom back from the dead. Easter is as the pinnacle of the Church Year, the oldest festival and season celebrated by the worshipping Church. For a full week-of-weeks (49 days) the Church celebrates the resurrection of Christ on the Sundays of Easter which culminate on the 50th day, Pentecost.  

The Sunday - Jesus’ Resurrection Rolls Away Doubt!

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First Lesson: Acts 26:19-29
Paul looks like such a loser. He is in 

4/11/21 - 2nd Sunday of Easter - Acts 26:19-29 - Doubt Is Rolled Away!

5/6/21 - 11:00 AM - Christian Funeral for Esther Lemke - 1 Timothy 1:15 
 
Held at Morrison Zion Lutheran Church in Greenleaf, WI https://www.mzluth.org/ 
 
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Sermon: 1 Timothy 1:15 
 
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. (NIV) 
 
 
Lessons: Revelation 21:1-5 
21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (NIV) 
 
John 14:1-6 
14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (NIV) 
 
 
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The Condensed Life Story of Esther Lemke 
https://www.nickelfh.com/obituaries/Esther--C-Lemke?obId=20136267#/celebrationWall 
 
Esther Clara Minnie Lemke was born October 6, 1932 to the late Rudolph and Hilda Borchardt. She was baptized into God’s heavenly kingdom on October 16, 1932 and confirmed in her faith on April 14, 1946, both at Zion Lutheran Church in Wayside. Her confirmation verse was 1 Timothy 1:15. On April 25, 1959, she married Theodore H. Lemke at Zion Lutheran Church in Wayside. Esther served her Lord in many vocations. Esther and Ted were dairy farmers. In addition to working on the farm, Esther enjoyed caring for her family. She enjoyed quilting and was especially proud of the many baby blankets she lovingly made for her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and others. She was a long time member of choir and Ladies Aid at Morrison Zion Lutheran Church. She enjoyed volunteering at Repeat Performance thrift store. Esther also enjoyed doing daily crossword puzzles, playing cards with friends and family, and reading. 
 
On March 1, 2021 Esther passed away peacefully. By the grace of God she had reached on age of 88 years, 4 months, and 23 days. 
 
She is survived by her children Dennis (Fabia) of Florida, Lloyd (Lori) of Morrison, Ted (Julie) of Saukville, and daughter-in-law Dawn Root of Lake Orion, Michigan; her grandchildren Erin (Jeremy) Wittig of Morrison; Kim (Jon) Bare of Mequon; Lucian and Alexander Lemke of Michigan; and Danielle and Dana Lemke of Saukville. She is also survived by her great grandchildren Naomi, Seth, Jonah, and Audra Wittig; Josiah and Elina Bare; and by her sisters-in-law Alberta Borchardt, Dorothy Zenke, and Carol Borchardt, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins. 
 
She was preceded in death by her husband Theodore H. Lemke and son Frederick Lemke, parents Rudolph and Hilda Borchardt; step-mother Malinda Koch Borchardt; brothers Gilbert (Verna) Borchardt, Wilbert (Doris, Caroline) Borchardt, Norbert (Jeanette) Borchardt, Melvin Borchardt, Edward Borchardt, Marvin (Elaine) Borchardt; sisters Lorina (Melvin Hahn, Sylvester Fels), Luella (Donald) Miller; and sister Bernadine (Lester) Lemke. 
 
We say with Job, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27).

5/6/21 - 11:00 AM - Christian Funeral for Esther Lemke  - 1 Timothy 1:15

Held at Morrison Zion Lutheran Church in Greenleaf, WI  https://www.mzluth.org/

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Sermon:  1 Timothy 1:15

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. (NIV)


Lessons: Revelation 21:1-5
21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He w

5/6/21 - 11:00 AM - Christian Funeral for Esther Lemke  - 1 Timothy 1:15

A new way to register your online viewing! Text your names and the date to (920) 362-7118 or (920) 949-1038. 
 
Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7 
 
Announcements for the week - http://www.mzluth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/weekly-announcement-Feb-7-2021.pdf 
 
2/7/21 - 5th Sunday after the Epiphany - Romans 8:28-30 - All Things? All Things! 
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The Season 
The Epiphany season focuses on the theme of Jesus revealing himself to us as God and Savior. At the same time the readings present us with a real conundrum. The conundrum is that he hides the manifestations of his deity, so that his glory remains a secret and a mystery, even while he is revealing it. The theme present in all of the Epiphany readings is: He shows his hidden glory to those he calls. 
 
 
The Sunday 
Though the call to faith is general and always miraculous in its capacity to create a willing following, it is also always individual. It comes to each in his own special or unique set of circumstances. Jesus both arranges and takes those circumstances into account when he calls us to follow him. He so rules over history that he allows and then overcomes the obstacles in each of us to heeding his call. Again he shows himself glorious, but hides the glory in apparent weakness. 
 
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First Lesson: Job 7:1-7 
Job’s experience of suffering is extreme but by no means unique. In pain his only recourse is prayer that trusts in the mercy of God and in the power of God to relieve and to rescue. The glory and the power of the gospel are evident in the basic fact that Job prays at all; he continues to trust in God’s mercy and his promises to hear and help in the face of such terrible suffering. Even with the expectation that the only rescue will be in death, Job does not abandon his trust. The devil causes and uses misery to drive us away from God; God uses it to drive us to our knees and then with the gospel to raise us up again in hope and trust that triumphs even if the suffering stays. 
 
 
 
Second Lesson: Romans 8:28-30 
Who are the ones who love him? Those he has called. All of their personal history he governs and uses to accomplish his own ultimate purpose of their sharing in his glory. Notice: Paul does not say that God pre-determines all things, but that God makes use of all things in the lives of those he has predestined. God remains God in ultimate control, without man becoming a robot in those things that are subject to man’s own control (limited though that control may be). Thus even the evil that we have and are God uses for our good: he humbles us with its consequence, and then he brings us to see the greatness of his grace in his pardon. Then alone do we begin to understand that the things we count as good are gifts of grace and not of merit. So we glorify God as he leads us from faith here to sight and glory hereafter. 
 
 
 
 
Gospel: Mark 1:29-39 
Look at all the problems and all the obstacles to following the call of Jesus. Everybody in town seemed to have trouble or sickness or demon possession. Even the mother-in-law of Peter was down sick with a fever that prevented her from hearing the Word and from serving her divine Guest. But each and every one of the problems and hindrances was a blessing in disguise. For each one of them gave people a reason to despair of their own abilities and to seek in Jesus the compassionate and merciful Savior. Notice that Peter’s mother-in-law gets the point of Jesus’ help immediately: she has been saved to serve. It is very useful for us to put our own problems and hindrances to following Jesus in that kind of a perspective: trials spur us to seek his help; his help should spur us to service. Notice, too, that Jesus’ eyes were always and at the same time in two directions: down to rescue and to save us in our need, and up to do it all as an act of worship and obedience to his Father. He prayed. Then he went on to proclaim the gospel and continue his work of casting out the devil. 
 
 
 
 
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A new way to register your online viewing! Text your names and the date to (920) 362-7118 or (920) 949-1038.

Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7

Announcements for the week - http://www.mzluth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/weekly-announcement-Feb-7-2021.pdf

2/7/21 - 5th Sunday after the Epiphany - Romans 8:28-30 - All Things? All Things!
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The Season 
The Epiphany season focuses on the theme of Jesus revealing himself to us as God and Savior. At the same time the readings present us with a real conundrum. The conundrum is that he hides the manifestations of his deity, so that his glory remains a secret and a mystery, even while he is revealing it. The theme present in all of the Epiphany readings is: He shows his hidden glory to those he calls. 


The Sunday 
Though the call to faith is general and always miraculous in its capacity to create a willing following, it is also always in

2/7/21 - 5th Sunday after the Epiphany - Romans 8:28-30 - All Things? All Things!

A new way to register your online viewing! Text your names and the date to (920) 362-7118 or (920) 949-1038. 
 
Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7 
 
Announcements for the week - http://www.mzluth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/weekly-announcement-Jan-17-2021.pdf 
 
1/17/21 - 2nd Sunday after Epiphany - 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 - Called By The Gospel 
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The Season 
The Epiphany season focuses on the theme of Jesus revealing himself to us as God and Savior. At the same time the readings present us with a real conundrum. The conundrum is that he hides the manifestations of his deity, so that his glory remains a secret and a mystery, even while he is revealing it. The theme present in all of the Epiphany readings is: He shows his hidden glory to those he calls. 
 
 
The Sunday 
It is in the Word that we hear the call of God that has in it the secret power of God to give what he commands. He commands: Believe! and the Word creates faith. He says, Follow me! and the Word creates the desire and the ability to follow him. 
 
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First Lesson: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 
The call of God to Samuel initially required no work on Samuel’s part. But like the call in the gospel lesson it implies a following that is not going to be easy. If Nathanael and the other disciples will follow Jesus who seems like nothing to reason and to the eyes, they will all need to listen carefully to that Word. Otherwise the difficulties to come will overcome them. Thus as Mary gave us a model of submission in Advent, so Samuel does in Epiphany: Speak, for your servant is listening! That remains the first and most important part of following. How many when confronted by difficulty in the Word or in life would rather say, Listen Lord, for your servant is speaking? But this is one of the amazing things in Jesus’ call to us: It creates a willingness to say: I don’t know what is coming and what you will require of me; but whatever it is, I want to listen to you and to follow you! If someone else asked that of you, you would call him a fool for seeking a promise to follow when you don’t know the road or the cost of the journey. 
 
 
 
Second Lesson: 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 
The call to faith was glorious in grace and in the power to accomplish its intended purpose. It is the sanctifying work of the Spirit in the Word that calls and creates faith. The call remains glorious when it is translated into the life that follows faith. For that life always has its source, its inspiration, its direction, its strength to persevere in the Word. Just think of it: the Word gives us a share in the glory of Christ and the strength to remain steadfast to the end. But, again, it is all hidden except to the eyes of faith in those whom he has called. 
 
 
Gospel: John 1:43-51 
There is always a miraculous element in the call of Jesus. For anyone looking at him on the basis of appearance or reason will say what Nathanael said and turn away. In Nathanael’s case Jesus read from a distance the thoughts of Nathanael and then promised even more wondrous things; he promised that Nathanael with the eyes of faith would see heaven opened and Jesus as the ladder to heaven in fulfillment of Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28. But it is all invisible to reason and to the naked eye. Nathanael was astonished by what he saw in Jesus’ demonstration of omniscience, but he believed on the basis of a promise whose fulfillment was shrouded in the future and would never be visible to the human eye. Anyone who thinks that God is far and distant should consider that if he believes the gospel, it is because God is near at hand. He worked and still sustains that faith each moment by his glorious Word. 
 
 
 
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1/17/21 - 2nd Sunday after Epiphany - 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 - Called By The Gospel 
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The Season 
The Epiphany season focuses on the theme of Jesus revealing himself to us as God and Savior. At the same time the readings present us with a real conundrum. The conundrum is that he hides the manifestations of his deity, so that his glory remains a secret and a mystery, even while he is revealing it. The theme present in all of the Epiphany readings is: He shows his hidden glory to those he calls. 


The Sunday 
It is in the Word that we hear the call of God that has in it the secret power of God to give what he commands. He comma

1/17/21 - 2nd Sunday after Epiphany - 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 - Called By The Gospel

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11/02/20 - 7 PM - Election Eve Service - Psalm 146:3,5 
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The Service 
Tonight we gather together on the eve of a national election to carry out the Spirit’s words to us in 1 Timothy 2:1-4: 
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 
 
Prayer before Worship 
Heavenly Father, we gather together this evening to call on your name. You establish every earthly authority. You are in control of all things. We ask you to bless our country through the officials who will be elected. We also implore you to bless us with your Spirit as we worship so that we remember that in all things you are the ultimate source of all good things. Amen. 
 
Evening Prayer is based on the historic service called “Vespers.” Christians gather at the end of the day to raise their voices in thankful praise and prayer. 
 
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Lesson - Romans 13:1-7 
 
Sermon - Psalm 146:3,5 
 
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11/02/20 - 7 PM - Election Eve Service - Psalm 146:3,5
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The Service
Tonight we gather together on the eve of a national election to carry out the Spirit’s words to us in 1 Timothy 2:1-4:
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Prayer before Worship
Heavenly Father, we gather together this evening to call on your name. You establish every earthly authority. You are in control of all things. We ask you to bless our country through the officials who will be elected

11/02/20 - 7 PM - Election Eve Service - Psalm 146:3,5

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11/01/20 - Lutheran Reformation - Daniel 6:10-12,16-23 - Lord, keep us faithful to your Word! 
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The Season 
The focus of the season is fulfillment of Christ’s promises and encouragement for the Church of the End Times. We live in the last age of this earth, and in this season, Jesus wants us to remember his promise, “Behold, I am coming soon!” The Prayer of the Day for each Sunday in End Times sets the theme for the day. On each Sunday, the Church prays that God would bestow on her a characteristic necessary for the End Times Church. 
 
This Sunday 
Lord, keep us faithful to your Word! The Festival of the Lutheran Reformation of the Church emphasizes the true Church’s unfailing reliance on the Word of God and unflinching testimony to it in the face of persecution. 
 
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First Lesson - Daniel 6:10-12,16-23 
They didn’t persecute Daniel because of theses nailed to a church door; they didn’t accuse him because of stirring words spoken over a pile of condemned books. They persecuted Daniel because he prayed in his home. Daniel made a bold confession and faithful witness with his knees. No godless king or immutable law would change the homage due to God. No threats, no pain, not even death would change Daniel’s loyalty to the Word of God that called on him to worship the LORD his God only. So Daniel went home and prayed, just as he had done before. He was faithful, even in the face of certain persecution. For the Christian, most persecution doesn’t come from public writings like Luther, but from private acts like Daniel. We live our faith and are persecuted because of it. We don’t face a den of lions, but persecution abounds when we’re faithful to the Word. We lose relationships because of moral purity; we lose promotions because of worship priorities; we lose friendships because we won’t join in sinful talking or walking. Faithfulness to God’s Word in the face of persecution requires trust. God shut the lions’ mouths to answer the king’s question: Is your God able to rescue you? Yes, he is. God shut the lions’ mouths to show his Church of all the ages that God is able to guard and keep his own. You can trust him and be faithful to his Word in the face of any persecution. 
 
 
 
Second Lesson - 2 Timothy 4:9-18 
Paul learned firsthand that faithfulness to the Word of God brought persecution. His former brothers had abandoned him; his enemies had not stopped hounding him. Though he was by himself, Paul was never alone. Jesus stayed by his side and in Paul fulfilled the promises of both the First Lesson and the Gospel. Consider Paul’s confidence that God will rescue him from every evil attack—the point is not a rescue from danger, but rather a rescue through danger to the heavenly kingdom. Paul knew that even if he died for Christ, God would rescue him from that evil attack and bring him to heaven. 
 
 
Gospel - Matthew 10:16-23 
Throughout the history of the Church, the story of faithfulness to the Word of God has always been the story of persecution. And rightly so, because Jesus promised it! Who would send defenseless sheep into a world of ravenous wolves? It makes no sense, yet that is precisely the plan that Jesus describes for his Church. It makes no sense—unless you are the Good Shepherd who wants his sheep to utterly depend on him. Our trust in Jesus doesn’t guarantee an absence of persecution, but faithfulness in spite of it. We will witness to the Word of God before brothers, fathers, children, governors and princes. Jesus promised, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” What comfort that must have been for Martin Luther, whose faithful witness caused him to be expelled from his order, excommunicated from his church, and outlawed from his empire. Before the kings and princes of Europe, Luther gave faithful witness at Worms: “Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” 
 
 
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11/01/20 - Lutheran Reformation - Daniel 6:10-12,16-23 - Lord, keep us faithful to your Word! 
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The Season
The focus of the season is fulfillment of Christ’s promises and encouragement for the Church of the End Times. We live in the last age of this earth, and in this season, Jesus wants us to remember his promise, “Behold, I am coming soon!” The Prayer of the Day for each Sunday in End Times sets the theme for the day. On each Sunday, the Church prays that God would bestow on her a characteristic necessary for the End Times Church.

This Sunday
Lord, keep us faithful to your Word! The Festival of the Lutheran Reformation of the Church emphasizes the true Church’s unfailing reliance on the Word of God and unflinching testimony to it in the face 

11/01/20 - Lutheran Reformation - Daniel 6:10-12,16-23 - Lord, keep us faithful to your Word!

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10/18/20 - Pentecost 20 - 2 Kings 21:1-15 - Our God patiently seeks fruits 
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The Season 
The appointed lessons of weeks 18-21 teach us the characteristics of our God. 
 
This Sunday 
Our God patiently seeks fruits. The Lord came to his city and his temple to teach his people, but the leaders of Israel rose up against him. When they questioned his authority, Jesus responded with three parables meant to drive the leaders to self-evaluation and self-condemnation. The stories speak of family ties, contractual obligation, and the favor of a royal invitation. Each should have led to a proper response, yet each parable showed that Israel’s leaders were refusing to give God the fruits of faith he patiently sought 
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First Lesson - 2 Kings 21:1-15 
Manasseh’s story shocks us. Though he was king of God’s people, he committed every evil imaginable. His wickedness knew no bounds. He worshiped idols and put false altars in the temple of God’s holy name— even an Asherah pole. He practiced witchcraft. He put his son to death as a sacrifice. He filled Jerusalem with blood, and tradition says he had the prophet Isaiah sawn in half. He led God’s people into such apostasy that their sin was worse than the nations that God had driven out of the land at the exodus. God had been patient with Israel for 750 years, but the fruitlessness of Manasseh proved too much, even for our patient God. God vowed to destroy his vineyard, Israel. More shocking than Manasseh’s sin, however, is the story of God’s grace. In 2 Chronicles 33, we learn that Manasseh finally heard God’s call to repentance once the shackles were clamped on and a hook put through his nose. He humbled himself and cried out to God—and God forgave him. That God could forgive Manasseh boggles the mind. So, too, does the change in Manasseh’s life. He produced the fruits that his God had patiently sought: he removed the altars, got rid of the false gods, worshiped the true God and encouraged all of Judah to do the same. Recognizing God’s mercy and love leads us to produce the fruits he desires 
 
 
Second Lesson - 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 
Jesus kept his promise and gave the kingdom of God to a new nation, to a people founded by faith and motivated by love. Paul writes as a servant of God to us, the new workers in the vineyard. He warns us not to squander the opportunity before us by receiving the grace of God in vain. Now is the day of salvation. The grace of God leads us to live as tenants who produce the fruits our God seeks. Paul points to his own ministry as an example. The grace of God led Paul to make every effort to bear the cross and suffer for the sake of the kingdom. He pointed to his fruits of faith and encouraged the Church, “Open wide your hearts also.” Make us ready, with free hearts, to do whatever pleases you; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 
 
Gospel - Matthew 21:33-43 
Jesus’ words in the Gospel highlight the patience of our God as he seeks fruits of faith. Could God have done anything more for Israel? The point here is the amazing patience the owner displays. What owner would continue to send servants when they were treated this way? Even Jesus’ enemies had to agree that the only just end for such tenants was judgment. The owner’s Son looked his enemies in the eye and proclaimed that opposing him was impossible. Killing the Son means defeat for his enemies and victory for God as prophesied in Psalm 118. God will lift his Son from death and use the stone rejected by men as his capstone. Let Jesus’ enemies be warned. You can oppose the Son actively and you will find yourself on your face. You can ignore the Son at your peril and you will find yourself ground to powder. Israel’s leaders refused to produce the fruits of repentance and faith. As a result, the kingdom of God will be ripped away and given to a different nation. The nation to whom is it given is the body of believers. Whether they are prostitutes (Matthew 21:32) or members of the Sanhedrin (John 19:39) or Gentiles who are of the faith of Abraham (Romans 4:16), the kingdom belongs to them by faith. 
 
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10/18/20 - Pentecost 20 - 2 Kings 21:1-15  - Our God patiently seeks fruits
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The Season
The appointed lessons of weeks 18-21 teach us the characteristics of our God.

This Sunday
Our God patiently seeks fruits. The Lord came to his city and his temple to teach his people, but the leaders of Israel rose up against him. When they questioned his authority, Jesus responded with three parables meant to drive the leaders to self-evaluation and self-condemnation. The stories speak of family ties, contractual obligation, and the favor of a royal invitation. Each should have led to a proper response, yet each parable showed that Israel’s leaders were refusing to give God the fruits of faith he patiently sought
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First Lesson - 2 Kings 21:1-15


10/18/20 - Pentecost 20 - 2 Kings 21:1-15  - Our God patiently seeks fruits.

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10/11/20 - Pentecost 19 - Ezekiel 18:1-4,25-32 - Our God Wants Real Repentance And True Obedience 
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The Season 
The appointed lessons of weeks 18-21 teach us the characteristics of our God. 
 
The Sunday 
Our God wants real repentance that leads to true obedience. The Verse of the Day reminds us that one day, every one will bow before Jesus of Nazareth and confess him as Lord. Some will do so in grief and others in joy. God wants real repentance from every sinner they might bend the knee to Christ in true obedience and confess with gladness that Jesus is Lord. The Church prays that God would rule our hearts through Word and Sacrament that our repentance might be real and our obedience truly pleasing. 
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First Lesson - Ezekiel 18:1-4,25-32 
On this day when the Church is called to continual repentance, Ezekiel brings a strong warning for Christians who grow lax in their faith or dismissive of their sin. God wants real repentance that leads to true obedience. Israel had not given either. Instead of seeing their suffering as a result of their sin and as a call to repentance, they saw only injustice. With their favorite proverb, “The fathers eat sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge,” they were saying that God should certainly punish sin, but they felt he was punishing the wrong people. They felt they were being punished for the sins of their parents, and they implied that God was not just in treating them this way. God denies it all: the soul that sins is the one that will die. This is not injustice—no, the injustice is that Man who was made for perfection sinned again and again against his God. God shows just how just he is: he will judge each man according to his way. Repent, God says, turn from your wickedness and live. God promises not to judge us by our past, but by our present, and so he calls us to live anew. Repent and receive a new heart and new spirit that leads to true obedience. Why will you die, O Israel? God wants exactly the opposite—repent and live! 
 
 
Second Lesson - 2 Corinthians 13:5-8 
The Corinthian congregation had heard much from Paul on the topics of repentance and obedience. As they readied to receive Paul on his third visit, he encouraged them to prepare by testing themselves. Which son were they acting like, the son who worked in the vineyard or the one who just talked about it? Paul tells them to examine themselves to see whether they were in the faith. True obedience gives evidence of real repentance. It is not the cause of repentance, but a visible fruit that shows our faith is genuine. That brings us the joy of knowing that Christ Jesus is in us, and we are walking on the way of righteousness. 
 
 
Gospel - Matthew 21:28-32 
They seemed so righteous as they stood in the temple courts. The great men of Israel had gathered against Jesus. These men knew all the words to say and ways to act, but the only “righteousness” they had was a self-righteousness that offended God. They claimed to be doing God’s work and fulfilling his will, but there was no repentance and no true obedience. The parable Jesus spoke against them convicts every self-righteous person. The father commands two sons to work in his vineyard and receives two surprising answers. The first son flatly refuses; he fails to even offer an excuse, but simply says, “I will not.” The second son says all the right things and tacks on an appropriately respectful title. He seems almost breathless in his readiness to do the father’s will. True obedience, however, in not merely saying what God wants to hear, but doing what God wants done. The first son repented of his wickedness and gave his father true obedience; the second merely mouthed the words and contented himself with doing his own thing. Which did what the father wanted? Jesus’ question had only one answer, and the religious leaders gave it and indicted themselves. Yes, even the vilest sinner that repents gives an obedience far more true that the upright man wallowing in his self-righteousness. What a powerful warning to the Pharisee inside each of us that wants to be content with saying the right words when it comes to faith! What a stinging rebuke of our lukewarm Christianity that confesses Christ with our mouth but denies him with our deeds! Repent, Christ says, and believe—true obedience will surely follow. 
 
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10/11/20 - Pentecost 19 - Ezekiel 18:1-4,25-32 - Our God Wants Real Repentance And True Obedience

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9/27/20 - Pentecost 17 - Genesis 50:15-21 - The Church forgives as God forgives 
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The Season 
After reliving the great events of the life of Christ, the worshipping Church spends half a year focusing on the teachings of Christ. The Spirit uses those teachings of Jesus to grow the faith of believers. The appointed lessons of the first five weeks teach us the characteristics of the Holy Ministry 
 
The Sunday 
The Church forgives as God forgives. Anytime we try to imitate God, we quickly realize our inadequacy. Yet today God tells us to model our forgiveness on his: a boundless, free, and loving forgiveness based on the sacrifice of Christ. How could our sinful hearts ever forgive like that? The Prayer of the Day asks that the mercy and grace of God precede us and follow after us, that we might love God with undivided hearts—hearts always ready to forgive as God does: sins are forgiven, forgotten, forever. 
 
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First Lesson - Genesis 50:15-21 
How hard it is to forgive like God! We may forgive someone who hurts us, but we never forget. We harbor that hurt deep inside of us for years—never understanding that we are locking ourselves in the prison of the past. Joseph’s brothers feared that they would finally have to pay for what they did to Joseph. His father was gone; he was still in charge in Egypt; and the brothers thought that they were going to face Joseph’s vengeance. As repentant sinners, we often act like the brothers and wait for God to get even with us for our past sins. Shame on us! We are making God as shallow as we are! In God’s eyes our sins are forgiven, forgotten, forever. Joseph wept at their words as he remembered the sordid history and all the emotions that came with it. He wept, but he was free from the prison of the past; he had forgiven his brothers their terrible deeds. Through his tears, Joseph never wavered, but he calmed his brothers’ fears, forgave them like God forgives, and set them free from their prison of the past. 
 
 
Second Lesson - Ephesians 4:29-5:2 
Paul commands us not to act like the unmerciful servant, but rather: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” The Church is comprised of people who have been sealed for redemption, so let’s act like it! Not only kindness and compassion, but forgiveness is the primary mark of the Christian. We forgive because God forgave us in Christ. That makes us imitators of God. Every Old Testament sacrificial victim pointed ahead to the death of Christ, the fragrant offering and the atoning sacrifice that won our forgiveness and inspires our forgiveness for others. 
 
 
Gospel - Matthew 18:21-35 
"The human animal is not…good at forgiveness. Forgiveness is not some innate, natural human emotion. It is natural for the human animal to defend itself, to snarl and crouch into a defensive position when attacked, to howl when wronged, to bite back when bitten. Forgiveness is not natural." (Willimon) Forgiveness must be learned, and Peter thought he had figured it out. From the elders of the Jews Peter had heard: “If a man transgresses one time, forgive him. If a man transgresses two times, forgive him. If a man transgresses three times, forgive him. If a man transgresses four times, do not forgive him.” Three times, the elders said, was the limit of forgiveness for a good Jew. Peter, however, was willing to go much further; not three times, but seven times, Peter thought with a smile. Until Jesus said, “Not seven times, Peter, seventy times seven— what the elders say doesn’t matter. I say to you that your forgiveness should have no limit, but be like God’s.” Jesus’ parable contrasts the forgiveness of God and our own unforgiving nature. The servant’s debt— by any measure of calculation—was impossibly high (perhaps 200,000 years’ wages). Who could have accrued such a debt? Who could ever repay? What an arresting picture of our debt of sin before God! The greatness of the debt magnifies the compassion of the king who wipes the debt away. Who can comprehend the forgiveness of God? Certainly not unmerciful servants like us, who refuse to forgive the small debts owed to us, and instead, inflict on our fellow servants the punishments that God should rightly have given us. Have mercy on us, Lord, and teach us to forgive like you! 
 
 
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9/27/20 - Pentecost 17 - Genesis 50:15-21 - The Church forgives as God forgives
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The Season
After reliving the great events of the life of Christ, the worshipping Church spends half a year focusing on the teachings of Christ. The Spirit uses those teachings of Jesus to grow the faith of believers. The appointed lessons of the first five weeks teach us the characteristics of the Holy Ministry

The Sunday
The Church forgives as God forgives. Anytime we try to imitate God, we quickly realize our inadequacy. Yet today God tells us to model our forgiveness on his: a boundless, free, and loving forgiveness based on the sacrifice of Christ. How could our sinful hearts ever forgive like that? The Prayer of the Day asks that the mercy and grace of God precede us and follow after us, that we might love God with undivided hearts—hearts always ready to forgive

9/27/20 - Pentecost 17 - Genesis 50:15-21 - The Church forgives as God forgives

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9/20/20 - Pentecost 16 - Ezekiel 33:7-11 - The Church Fulfills Her Role As Her Brother’s Keeper 
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The Season 
After reliving the great events of the life of Christ, the worshipping Church spends half a year focusing on the teachings of Christ. The Spirit uses those teachings of Jesus to grow the faith of believers. The appointed lessons of the first five weeks teach us the characteristics of the Holy Ministry 
 
The Sunday 
The Church fulfills her role as her brother’s keeper. The privilege, responsibility and importance of this task all rest in the words from our Gospel that follow Jesus’ divine directive, “I tell you the truth…” The keys of the kingdom have been placed in our hands. It is our privilege and responsibility to bind and to loose—to be our brother’s keeper—because Christ has appointed the Church to carry out that task on his behalf. 
 
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First Lesson - Ezekiel 33:7-11 
Since the time of Cain, man has hated being his brother’s keeper. Are we any different today? Who but little Pharisees enjoy pointing out others’ sins? But God tells us the task is not optional. No one wants to wake up their next door neighbor at 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday. But if his house were burning, and you let him sleep, you are not just loveless and careless. You are a killer. In the same way God drops on us the heavy message of being a watchman for our brother. God’s judgment on fallen man is as clear as it is severe. If we fail to do the job God has assigned us, God promises to hold us accountable. With the Law driven deeply into our hearts, God then reminds us why he has given us this job: because of his grace and his desire for the salvation of all mankind. The responsibility of waking our neighbor asleep in a burning house becomes a joyful privilege when he emerges safely from the smoke. May our task of being our brother’s keeper always be one done with such responsibility and joy. 
 
 
Second Lesson - Galatians 2:11-21 
Being your brother’s keeper will lead at times to uncomfortable situations or even confrontations. Here Paul tells how he had to oppose Peter to his face. Paul did not do this out of jealously of this reputed pillar; this was no power play pitting the Apostle to the Jews against the Apostle the Gentiles. This had to do with the eternal salvation of everyone involved. Trusting in anything other than Christ is like sleeping in a burning house. Paul took his job of being a watchman seriously: if righteousness could be gained through the Judaizers’ demands, then Christ died for nothing! So Paul woke his sleeping neighbor with the harsh reality of Peter’s hypocrisy. But the Word did its work; Paul didn’t merely keep his brother, he won his brother over. 
 
 
Gospel - Matthew 18:15-20 
The importance of Christian discipline lies in the fact that the keys have been placed into the hands of the Church and in no other. The Christian and the Church are a fallen sinner’s only life line. Satan tries to make Christian discipline seem like the height of hypocrisy or meddling. But his is a self-interested motive: he wants the fallen brother’s sins bound like his for an eternity in hell. Only love could lead the Christian and the Church to go to a fallen brother. Only love led our Savior to command it. Even the manner Jesus prescribes shows great love for the fallen. First, privately, so that offense and embarrassment might be contained, and pardon and forgiveness might all the more readily flow. Then with two or three, that the matter might be underscored without making tongues wag throughout the congregation. Finally, also in love, the Church calls and, if necessary, shuns. Such a great privilege and power has Christ bestowed on us! It leads us to even greater reliance on prayer for guidance and the presence of our Savior among us. 
 
 
 
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9/20/20 - Pentecost 16 - Ezekiel 33:7-11 - The Church Fulfills Her Role As Her Brother’s Keeper 
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The Season
After reliving the great events of the life of Christ, the worshipping Church spends half a year focusing on the teachings of Christ. The Spirit uses those teachings of Jesus to grow the faith of believers. The appointed lessons of the first five weeks teach us the characteristics of the Holy Ministry

The Sunday
The Church fulfills her role as her brother’s keeper. The privilege, responsibility and importance of this task all rest in the words from our Gospel that follow Jesus’ divine directive, “I tell you the truth…” The keys of the kingdom have been placed in our hands. It is our privilege and responsibility to bind and to loose—to be our brother’s keeper—because Christ has appointed the Church to carry out that task on his behalf.

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9/20/20 - Pentecost 16 - Ezekiel 33:7-11 - The Church Fulfills Her Role As Her Brother’s Keeper

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9/13/20 - Pentecost 15 - Judges 16:22-31 - The Church Is Militant: First the Cross, Then the Crown. 
 
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The Season 
After reliving the great events of the life of Christ, the worshipping Church spends half a year focusing on the teachings of Christ. The Spirit uses those teachings of Jesus to grow the faith of believers. The appointed lessons of the first five weeks teach us the characteristics of the Holy Ministry 
 
The Sunday 
TThe Church is militant: first the cross, then the crown. Today Christ tells us that for him and for us, going God’s way means death must come before life. He calls on us to deny ourselves and follow him on the way of the cross. Those words offend our sinful flesh and make our Old Adam cry with Peter, “Never!” So today the Church prays for the never-failing mercy of Christ that we might avoid such wicked and harmful thoughts and instead be guided on the cross-laden path to salvation. Then, and only then, do these words of Christ cease offending our flesh and become a joy and delight for our heart (Verse of the Day). 
 
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First Lesson - Judges 16:22-31 
What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Jesus’ words of warning form a perfect picture of Samson. He had the world: strength, fame, power, leadership, love. Yet he was losing his soul. But the God of grace humbled him. Samson repented and took up his cross and followed. He lost his life, but died in faith. His words comprise the most fervent plea that a sinner can make at the end of life. Like the thief, he cried, “Remember me!” Once again a man of faith, he had in mind the things of God rather than men and died in service to his Savior God. 
 
 
 
 
Second Lesson - Galatians 6:12-16 
Christians will be tempted to give in to license or legalism in order to escape persecution. But Christ told us to expect persecution and burdens that come from carrying his cross. For the Christian, bearing the cross is a point of pride and the basis for our boasting. How can this be? We are the Church militant, and so death comes before life, the cross before the crown. By the cross the world dies to us, and we die by that same cross to the world. But after that death comes life—new life—an entirely new creation. 
 
 
 
 
Gospel - Matthew 16:21-26 
Peter’s great confession from last Sunday’s Gospel showed the disciples understood who Jesus was. But though they understood his person, they still failed to understand his work. He had come to fulfill the redemptive mission for which he was anointed; he had not come to fulfill Israel’s earthbound views of Messiah. He couldn’t be the Messiah they wanted, and still be the Savior they needed. “He must go…” Cross and death were necessary first. When Jesus spoke most clearly about his cross, Peter spoke Satan’s words of compromise. Thanks be to God that our Savior saw the necessity of the cross before the crown! Now for Christian followers, cross comes before the crown as well. We die to self, but gain Christ, the Life. 
 
 
 
 
 
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9/13/20 - Pentecost 15 - Judges 16:22-31 - The Church Is Militant: First the Cross, Then the Crown

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9/6/20 - Pentecost 14 - Joshua 4:1-9 - The Church will stand forever. 
 
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The Season 
After reliving the great events of the life of Christ, the worshipping Church spends half a year focusing on the teachings of Christ. The Spirit uses those teachings of Jesus to grow the faith of believers. The appointed lessons of the first five weeks teach us the characteristics of the Holy Ministry 
 
The Sunday 
The Church will stand forever. Nothing can keep our Redeemer from upholding his promised salvation. Neither false expectations nor the gates of hell, neither an Egyptian army nor a flowing river, not even the great tribulation of the end times will keep our God from preserving his Church. 
 
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First Lesson - Joshua 4:1-9 
Twelve rocks told the story God’s grace and preservation to generations of his people. Through the Word, they still speak to us today. As he once used his might to halt a river in its place to preserve his people, so today God still preserves and protects the new Israel, his Holy Church. Today, rocks still speak. Not stones in a river, but people like Peter, little rocks who proclaim the Rock on which we stand forever. 
 
 
 
Second Lesson - Revelation 7:1-8 
God doesn’t just hold back rivers, but he even holds back the winds of destruction until every one of his elect is safely sealed. Ezekiel 9 gives an interesting prophesy of such a seal. The believers are marked with the Hebrew letter Taw. It’s intriguing to think of the image that would have formed in the mind of the people of Israel. The Hebrew script at the time would have marked each forehead with † or + or X. Thus sealed with the seal of the living God, the whole Church is preserved forever (122 x 1 3 = 144,000. The number of the Church is 12; the number of completeness is 10; multiplication intensifies the symbolism). 
 
 
 
Gospel - Matthew 16:13-20 
Who do people say the Son of Man is? That question is as applicable today as it was in Matthew’s Gospel. As the disciples rattled off the popular misconceptions, one is struck by how illustrious that list actually was. There were no slouches in that group. But they didn’t even begin to compare with the truth. Many people today give similar answers: they call Jesus a teacher, a philosopher, the founder of a religion, an agent of change. Their answers miss the mark as widely as the answers of the people in the Gospel. Only disciples of Jesus, through the work of the Spirit of God, can confess him as he truly is. Could Peter’s answer be any better? You are the Anointed One, the one set apart by God and prophesied by Scripture, the Promised Seed who would save us from sin. But even more than that, Peter showed that the disciples confessed him to be the Son of the living God. Now here, in the flesh, stood the Son of the living God whose mission was to restore life to this world of death. This truth is the rock on which the Church stands. Because it stands on the rock and not on the pebbles of men who serve it, the Church will stand forever: its message is changeless; the ramifications of its work are eternal. 
 
 
 
 
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9/6/20 - Pentecost 14 - Joshua 4:1-9 - The Church will stand forever.

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The Season
After reliving the great events of the life of Christ, the worshipping Church spends half a year focusing on the teachings of Christ. The Spirit uses those teachings of Jesus to grow the faith of believers. The appointed lessons of the first five weeks teach us the characteristics of the Holy Ministry

The Sunday
The Church will stand forever. Nothing can keep our Redeemer from upholding his promised salvation. Neither false expectations nor the gates of hell, neither an Egyptian army nor a flowing river, not even the great tribulation of the end times will keep our God from preserving his Church.

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First Lesson - Joshua 4:1-9
Twelve rocks told the story God’s grace and preservation to generations of his people. Through the Word, they still speak to us t

9/6/20 - Pentecost 14 - Joshua 4:1-9 - The Church will stand forever.  - 8:00 AM

Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7 
 
Pentecost 13 - Joshua 2:8-21 - The Church is meant for all people. 
 
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The Season 
After reliving the great events of the life of Christ, the worshipping Church spends half a year focusing on the teachings of Christ. The Spirit uses those teachings of Jesus to grow the faith of believers. The appointed lessons of the first five weeks teach us the characteristics of the Holy Ministry 
 
The Sunday 
The Church is meant for all people. The Prayer of the Day reminds us that it is only by God’s gift of grace that we come into his presence to offer true and faithful service. Today’s lessons teach that the gift of grace given to Israel, God also intended to give through Israel to the world. The Church is meant for all people: a display of God’s mercy and a result of the living and active Word of God. 
 
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First Lesson - Joshua 2:8-21 
It is reasonable that spies would hide themselves in a house of prostitution. It is reasonable, too, that this prostitute Rahab tried to cut a deal to preserve her life in the face of the Israelite onslaught that the whole city knew was coming. But what reason is there that she did it out of faith in the LORD? What reason did she find to have faith in the God of free and faithful love? There is no reason for that but the unreasonable gift of God worked in her heart by the living and active Word of God. Clearly, God meant his Church to be for all people. But he didn’t stop there! What reason could there be that this foreign woman, this prostitute from a godless country, that hers would be the womb through which line of the Blessed Seed would descend? There is no reason for that at all. That can only be grace. Grace meant for all people. 
 
 
Second Lesson - Romans 11:13-15,28-32 
On this day celebrating faith for the Gentiles, Paul warns his Gentile readers against any pride on their part or prejudice against the Jews. Note the point of this Apostle to the Gentiles: he reaches out to the Gentile with the hopes of also winning the Jew. Verse 15 makes the point of our Gospel lesson. Rejection by the people of Israel meant Christ would be preached to the Gentiles. How personal this statement is for Paul! How many synagogues had he preached in, only to be cast out and make his way to the Gentiles? When the nation of Israel turned from its Savior God and his Messiah, God set his face against them as enemies of the Gospel. But yet God’s call and his Word of promise remain. Such is grace, that God does not love the lovable, but makes the unlovable his dear possession. Just look at what he did with the disobedient Gentiles! 
 
 
Gospel - Matthew 15:21-28 
The chosen people of God to whom belonged the patriarchs, the promises, the covenant and the temple, could see nothing in Christ but a breaker of man-made traditions. Jesus’ words to them could not be harsher. They were the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy: their outward rites and rituals belied an inward spiritual emptiness. The very people who should have been closest to Christ were most distant. So Jesus distances himself from them and goes to the Gentile land of ancient paganism, Tyre and Sidon. After leaving the land of God’s chosen people, Jesus finds a Canaanite woman who received the Word of God and trusted in God’s promises in a way that shamed every one of the religious teachers. How amazing is the grace of God that chooses the weak and lowly things of the world to shame the wise and proud. Only twice are we told that Jesus called someone’s faith great. Both were Gentiles, and both exhibited a God-given trust in the Word and promises of God made man.. 
 
 
 
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8/30/20 - Pentecost 13 - Joshua 2:8-21 - The Church is meant for all people.  - 8:00 AM

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Pentecost 12 - Matthew 14:22-33 - The Christian answers doubt with faith. 
 
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 The Season 
After reliving the great events of the life of Christ, the worshipping Church spends half a year focusing on the teachings of Christ. The Spirit uses those teachings of Jesus to grow the faith of believers. The appointed lessons of the first five weeks teach us the characteristics of the Holy Ministry 
 
The Sunday 
The Christian answers doubt with faith. Doubt is the unfortunate companion of faith. Wherever faith clings to the promises of God, doubt is always right there lingering in the back of our mind, constantly asking the serpent’s Garden question, “Did God really say?” How striking to think that we must have faith in God before we can doubt him! Today’s lessons show us believers who had faith in God and his abilities to save them, but yet doubted when his plans or purpose failed to match theirs. In each case, it is adversity that fights against faith and allows its unfortunate companion to rear its ugly head. And in each case, the true answer to doubt is not found in the great miracle that removes adversity, but in the still small voice of our Savior God whispering in his Word. Today we hear our Savior God ask us, “Why did you doubt?”, and we see that the Christian answers doubt with faith. 
 
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First Lesson - Exodus 14:10-31 
The children of Israel during their great exodus displayed that doubt is the unfortunate companion of faith. As they made their way from Egypt to Canaan, they scurried back and forth between the poles of faith and doubt with alarming regularity. Faith had led them to follow Moses and the Pillar into the desert. Now, however, with the sea in front of them and a great army behind them, faith fled and doubt reigned. Adversity made them forget the God of the Passover. Moses came with words so fitting for doubting hearts in the face of adversity, “You need only be still.” As the psalmist said, “The very water they thought was preventing their escape would in fact be the cause of their deliverance. The very army they thought would destroy them would in fact be destroyed. The troubles that seem to afflict us or hem us in, are, in fact, part of the plan for the glory of God and the salvation of man. It is only after the parted sea finds its former home that we recognize the grace of God’s hand in our lives. 
 
 
Second Lesson - James 1:2-8,12 
The trials we face in this sinful world can make us terrified like the disciples, or despondent like the children of Israel before the sea. James calls us out as living like double-minded men when we doubt our God. He preaches a law to hearts that need to hear it: “Do not doubt!” But God promises that in the midst of the storms of life, we can listen and also hear his gentle whisper. “It is I. Don’t be afraid!” When we hear his voice, the waves of doubt recede and faith finds its place again, making us sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 
 
 
Gospel - Matthew 14:22-33 
Doubt and faith rose and fell like the waves of the sea that dark night. The evangelist paints a picture of frantic effort against a storm with little progress. Then Jesus came—and note the way he came! He did not simply appear among them, as he could have. He did not fly or float. He walked on the water. The very thing they had been fighting, the water that threatened to take their life, Jesus walked on it like it was dry ground. What a Savior we have that walks on the waters of all our greatest fears! See the faith in the disciples grow! See Peter show it in his own miraculous walk. But, all too often, doubt is the unfortunate companion of faith. Though Jesus was standing on the water, Peter feared it. What pulls our eyes of faith away from Jesus? What are the waves and wind in our lives that make us doubt him? To Peter, Jesus asked, “Why did you doubt?” He gave no answer. What could he say? With Jesus there is never any need to doubt. How sad that we so often do! Rather, let us focus on the Savior and watch our faith swell as the disciples’ did when their doubts vanished, and they gave the greatest evidence of faith: they worshipped that man from Nazareth for what he truly was, the Son of God. 
 
 
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Pentecost 12 - Matthew 14:22-33 - The Christian answers doubt with faith.

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 The Season
After reliving the great events of the life of Christ, the worshipping Church spends half a year focusing on the teachings of Christ. The Spirit uses those teachings of Jesus to grow the faith of believers. The appointed lessons of the first five weeks teach us the characteristics of the Holy Ministry

The Sunday
The Christian answers doubt with faith. Doubt is the unfortunate companion of faith. Wherever faith clings to the promises of God, doubt is always right there lingering in the back of our mind, constantly asking the serpent’s Garden question, “Did God really say?” How striking to think that we must have faith in God before we can doubt him! Today’s lessons show us believers who had faith in God and his abilities to save them, but yet doubted when his pl

8/23/20 - Pentecost 12 - Matthew 14:22-33 - The Christian answers doubt with faith.  - 8:00 AM

4/15/20 9:00 am Philippians Devotional #1 - Rejoice in Gospel Partnership! - Philippians 1:1-11 
 
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Rejoice in the Lord! 
Paul’s Letter to the Philippians 
 
We live in interesting times. We were unable to worship together during Holy Week. Many have lost some or all of their income. Uncertainty lies behind us, beside us, and before us. How can we as God’s people walk by faith and not by sight in these interesting times? 
 
A good place for us to turn is Paul’s letter to the Christians in the city of Philippi. He wrote to them from Rome. He was under house arrest, awaiting an appeal before the emperor. He could not move freely. He had spent years in Judea unable to move around freely. He had almost died on the journey to Rome. Now he had jailers behind him, beside him, and before him. 
 
In those circumstances he writes to inform his brothers and sisters in Christ about how he was doing. Led by the Spirit he used the word “joy” or a variant of it 16 times in this short letter. He urged them to Rejoice in the Lord always. How could he do that? How can we do that? We will spend 8 weeks looking at this letter. Our first week we will focus on… 
 
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4/15/20 9:00 am Philippians Devotional #1 - Rejoice in Gospel Partnership! - Philippians 1:1-11

Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7

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Rejoice in the Lord! 
Paul’s Letter to the Philippians

We live in interesting times. We were unable to worship together during Holy Week. Many have lost some or all of their income. Uncertainty lies behind us, beside us, and before us. How can we as God’s people walk by faith and not by sight in these interesting times?

A good place for us to turn is Paul’s letter to the Christians in the city of Philippi. He wrote to them from Rome. He was under house arrest, awaiting an appeal before the emperor. He could not move freely. He had spent years in Judea unable to move around freely. He had almost died on the journey to Rome. Now he had jailers behind him, beside him, and before him. 

In those circumstances he writes to inform his brothers and sisters in 

4/15/20 9:00 am Philippians Devotional #1 - Rejoice in Gospel Partnership! - Philippians 1:1-11

Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7 
 
Easter Worship - 4/12/20 - Salvation Comes From the Lord: Jonah 2:2-9 - 9:00am Worship 
 
The Festival of the Resurrection of Our Lord is the high point of the Church Year. We celebrate Christ’s victory over death that is ours by faith. The Paschal Candle, as a symbolic reminder of the risen Christ, helps us to celebrate the fact that the darkness of sin and death has been overcome by the resurrection. The Paschal candle will burn throughout the Easter season until Ascension 
 
Colossians 3:1-4 
Through baptism, God kills our sinful nature and raises a new man to life within us. The power of baptism comes from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So Christ’s Easter is really our Easter, too. Our spiritual resurrection creates a new reality for us who are bound for glory. Though eternal life is ours through baptism, its full glory remains hidden until the day of Christ. Until then, we live as resurrected heirs waiting for our inheritance. We set our hearts and minds on the glory that is waiting for us above. 
 
Matthew 28:1-10 
The women walked to the tomb, arms full of spices and hearts full of disappointment. They had come to a place of disappointment, broken promises, and fear. All they had hoped to do was anoint the body of a dead man. A dead Jesus does no good for anyone—not for the women, not for the disciples, not for us. But when the angel spoke, the tomb became a place of victory, a place of promises fulfilled, a place of joy. Do not be afraid! The angel spoke two amazing words, “was” and “is.” Yes, he was crucified, but no, he is not here in the grave. He is very much alive, just as he said. That fact fundamentally changes our relationship with God forever. You can see in it the words of Jesus to the women, “Go and tell my brothers.” Jesus had good reason to remind those men of their desertion. Jesus had good reason to remind them that they were nothing but servants. Instead, he took this moment to call them “my brothers” for the very first time. The living Son of God had made full payment for sin so that he could call us brothers. Mankind is redeemed; death is defeated; fear is conquered. And Christ looks upon us forgiven sinners and calls us his brothers. This is the day the Lord has made! 
 
 
Jonah 2:2-9 - Sermon - Salvation Comes From the Lord 
Jesus compared himself to only one Old Testament prophet: the reluctant, petulant, and chastised prophet Jonah. Why would he compare himself to Jonah? Because in his suffering and death, he took the place of sinful man who deserves nothing but judgment and death. Speaking to a wicked and rebellious generation, Jesus promised the sign of the prophet Jonah: as he was in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man would be in the belly of the earth. Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the fish finishes with the key point of his book and of Scripture: “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” God would make salvation ours, but he would do it by making Jesus just like Jonah. God punished Jesus for our rebelliousness and sent Christ to our grave. In Jonah, we see a picture of both Jesus and us. Like Jonah, Jesus was judged and sent to his death by God the Father. Like Jonah, after three days, he emerged from death to life. Like Jonah, you and I deserve nothing but death. Yet it’s God’s will to kill us not physically, but baptismally (Romans 6), and that a new man should arise as from the dead to live before God. 
 
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Visit http://www.mzluth.org for more information about Morrison Zion 
 
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Easter Worship - 4/12/20 - Salvation Comes From the Lord: Jonah 2:2-9  - 9:00am Worship

The Festival of the Resurrection of Our Lord is the high point of the Church Year. We celebrate Christ’s victory over death that is ours by faith. The Paschal Candle, as a symbolic reminder of the risen Christ, helps us to celebrate the fact that the darkness of sin and death has been overcome by the resurrection. The Paschal candle will burn throughout the Easter season until Ascension

Colossians 3:1-4
Through baptism, God kills our sinful nature and raises a new man to life within us. The power of baptism comes from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So Christ’s Easter is really our Easter, too. Our spiritual resurrection creates a new reality for us who are bound for glory. Though eternal life is ours through baptism, its full glory remains hidden until th

Easter Worship - 4/12/20 - Salvation Comes From the Lord: Jonah 2:2-9  - 9:00am Worship

Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7 
 
Maundy Thursday - 4/9/20 - Remember: Exodus 12:1-14 - 10:00am Worship 
 
Maundy Thursday ushers the believer into the “Three Holy Days” of Christendom. It is more than history that is celebrated today. The Holy Sacrament extends to the believer the very body and blood of our Savior and gives the forgiveness of sins. 
 
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Christ shows us the full extent of God’s love for us. The Church calls this day Maundy because of Jesus’ new command in the Gospel that his followers love one another (it is the dies mandati). The lessons focus on Christ’s command for humility and love. Christ shows the full extent of his love in both service and sacrifice. He loves us more than life. His blood paints the way to our salvation. Reconciled to God through the flesh and blood of Christ, we follow his command to love each other. 
 
To underscore the end of the Lenten time of preparation, the sermon is placed at the beginning of the service. When placed here, the sermon provides (both by its placement and content) a powerful preamble to the Instruction for the End of Lent and the confession that follows. 
 
Visit http://www.mzluth.org for more information about Morrison Zion 
 
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Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7

Maundy Thursday - 4/9/20 - Remember: Exodus 12:1-14  - 10:00am Worship

Maundy Thursday ushers the believer into the “Three Holy Days” of Christendom. It is more than history that is celebrated today. The Holy Sacrament extends to the believer the very body and blood of our Savior and gives the forgiveness of sins. 

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Christ shows us the full extent of God’s love for us. The Church calls this day Maundy because of Jesus’ new command in the Gospel that his followers love one another (it is the dies mandati). The lessons focus on Christ’s command for humility and love. Christ shows the full extent of his love in both service and sacrifice. He loves us more than life. His blood paints the way to our salvation. Reconciled to God through the flesh and blood of Christ, we follow his command to love each other.

To underscore the end of the Lenten time of 

Maundy Thursday - 4/9/20 - Remember: Exodus 12:1-14  - 10:00am Worship

Please go to our online Friendship Register if you were able to join us for online worship https://forms.gle/fP2yNuc98PD4xriC7 
 
Rejoice with Your Humble King - Zechariah 9:9-10 - 4/5/20 - 9:00am Worship: Palm Sunday 
 
Hail the King who humbly comes to save us! For 1700 years the Church has celebrated with Hosannas and palm branches this festival that opens Holy Week. The time for Christ’s glory had come (Verse of the Day). He would not, however, gain glory in the manner of other kings. Rather, he would humble himself in great acts of love for us, and then the Father would exalt him to the highest place, because he had fulfilled God’s mission to save mankind. 
 
First Lesson - Zechariah 9:9-10 
Second Lesson - Philippians 2:5-11 
Gospel - Matthew 21:1-11 
 
Sermon - Zechariah 9:9-10: Live For Your Humble King 
 
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! 
 Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! 
See, your king comes to you, 
 righteous and victorious, 
lowly and riding on a donkey, 
 on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim 
 and the warhorses from Jerusalem, 
 and the battle bow will be broken. 
He will proclaim peace to the nations. 
 His rule will extend from sea to sea 
 and from the River to the ends of the earth. 
 
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Visit http://www.mzluth.org for more information about Morrison Zion 
 
Visit http://www.mzluth.org/online-worship/ for more links and resources concerning online worship 
 
Visit http://www.mzluth.org/family-ministry/ for family resources, devotions, Sunday School and other great links. 
 
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*** New NO FEE electronic giving.*** https://myvanco.vancopayments.com/cgi-bin/Vanco_ver3.vps?appver3=%20OKdCGZBJYpsCBoZoz5rakaYec2chL1Dmm-M9GmZKgDSujMcWeRQLKxtVuawnJ3eUYw7hSSHLKPgBJz2o0Pn-cTHuS6U_uUyWaBqpR_G-Ank9MboVt-jm5J4e-Hc8oOFf&cname=Morrison+Zion+Lutheran+Church&cadd1=7395+County+Rd+W&ccity=Greenleaf&cstate=WI&czip=54126&cein=391053005&ctid=504744921

Morrison Zion Lutheran Videos

4/25/21 - 4th Sunday of Easter - Acts 20:28-32 - Ignorance is Rolled Away!

4/18/21 - 3rd Sunday of Easter - Acts 12:1-19 - Distractions Are Rolled Away!

4/11/21 - 2nd Sunday of Easter - Acts 26:19-29 - Doubt Is Rolled Away!

5/6/21 - 11:00 AM - Christian Funeral for Esther Lemke - 1 Timothy 1:15

2/7/21 - 5th Sunday after the Epiphany - Romans 8:28-30 - All Things? All Things!

1/17/21 - 2nd Sunday after Epiphany - 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 - Called By The Gospel

11/02/20 - 7 PM - Election Eve Service - Psalm 146:3,5

11/01/20 - Lutheran Reformation - Daniel 6:10-12,16-23 - Lord, keep us faithful to your Word!

10/18/20 - Pentecost 20 - 2 Kings 21:1-15 - Our God patiently seeks fruits.

10/11/20 - Pentecost 19 - Ezekiel 18:1-4,25-32 - Our God Wants Real Repentance And True Obedience

9/27/20 - Pentecost 17 - Genesis 50:15-21 - The Church forgives as God forgives

9/20/20 - Pentecost 16 - Ezekiel 33:7-11 - The Church Fulfills Her Role As Her Brother’s Keeper

9/13/20 - Pentecost 15 - Judges 16:22-31 - The Church Is Militant: First the Cross, Then the Crown

9/6/20 - Pentecost 14 - Joshua 4:1-9 - The Church will stand forever. - 8:00 AM

8/30/20 - Pentecost 13 - Joshua 2:8-21 - The Church is meant for all people. - 8:00 AM

8/23/20 - Pentecost 12 - Matthew 14:22-33 - The Christian answers doubt with faith. - 8:00 AM

4/15/20 9:00 am Philippians Devotional #1 - Rejoice in Gospel Partnership! - Philippians 1:1-11

Easter Worship - 4/12/20 - Salvation Comes From the Lord: Jonah 2:2-9 - 9:00am Worship

Maundy Thursday - 4/9/20 - Remember: Exodus 12:1-14 - 10:00am Worship

Rejoice with Your Humble King - Zechariah 9:9-10 - 4/5/20 - 9:00am Worship: Palm Sunday

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