During these summer days friends let us give thanks for God's love.  In a world full of boundaries God's love is boundless!  He loves unconditionally and completely.  He loves fiercely and passionately.  He loves powerfully and potently!  Let us celebrate this love.  Give thanks for it.  Model it to others so that when people see us they see the Christ within us.  Thanks be to God friends.  Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Todd

Hi friends.  In these challenging and stressful times how do we stay focused on God in our everday faith walk?  Families friends come in all shapes, sizes, and configurations.  Families are important.  Families are vital.  Families give us connection and relationship in very special and unique ways.  We cherish those relationships and are called to grow in our understanding of what it means to practice faith with our family in all the relationships we have been blessed with.  Dr. Rich Melheim author of the book "Holding Your Family Together" had these helpful tips to share.  Please see below and check out the video.  May you and your family continue growing in your collective faith!

Faith 5 Plan:

1.  Share - Rather than simply asking "How was your day?" and receiving a standard, "Fine," we would ask every member of the household - and even guests who happened to be there - to share both a high and a low every night.  Sharing Highs and Lows.

2.  Read - Be passionate about raising children with marvelous and masterful creativity.  Creativity housed in having an excellent command of language and vivid imaginations!  Read stories together!  Read the word of God together and grow in your faith through the reading of the word!

3.  Talk - Talk about faith.  Talk about life.  Expand on those highs and lows in more detail.  Don't be afraid to be vulnerable and open with each other.  Listen - practice deep listening so that you not only know what is being said - but - the deeper meaning within those words being shared.

4.  Pray - lift it all up to pray.  Pray together.  Even create prayers together and write them - recite them - and teach them to others.  Lift up concerns - celebrate joys - and be present with your prayers so that they are a true conversation with God and your family.  Not just a list of things you tell God.

5.  Bless.  Mark the sign of the cross on each other's foreheads as a sign of God with you - your family - your friends - your neighbors both near and far - complete strangers.  God doesn't just love some - God loves all - for all have been made in his image.  Practice blessing each other!  Remember Numbers 6: 24-26 "The Lord Bless you and keep you."

Just a few tips and encouragements for you from Dr. Rich Melheim.  May you and your families continue to grow in faith together as we enter the month of May and beyond.  Check out the above video.  Blessings.

In Christ,

PT

Well friends this is week 3 in our Sermon Series entitled "Ordinary People, Extraordinary God" and this week we look into the amazing life of Mary, Mother of Jesus.  What word or words could we possibly use to describe Mary?  How about Beloved, Cherished, Precious, and Special just to name a few.  What do all these words have in common?  They are all synonyms for the word that the Angel Gabriel used to greet Mary in our power packed Gospel Reading from Luke's first chapter.  Gabriel begins with "Greetings FAVORED one!  The Lord is with you."  FAVORED.  That is what is amazing ordinary person was - FAVORED by God!

Interestingly enough Mary doesn't really seem to be scared of Gabriel's angelic presence at all.  In fact I think it's just the opposite.  I think she is far more curious and perplexed by what kind of greeting she is getting.  Her response says it all "But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be."  Indeed.  We certainly don't know all the reasons she may have been perplexed - but - there are certainly many possibilities.  From her circumstances to her socio-economic level - gender - age - life experience.  The list goes on.  At the same time NONE of these possibilities that may have perplexed her stood in the way of this courageous and faithful response at the end of this passage in verse 38 "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

Faithful, fearless, gritty, tough, courageous, and humble just to name a few.  This is Mary friends.  An ordinary person that the Lord used in extraordinary ways.  Mary is trusting the words in verse 37.  "Nothing is impossible with God."  Not only does Mary trust this - she is expecting that the impossible will be made possible through her!  She is expecting God to use her to proclaim the good news of the kingdom - through the birth of her Son - God's one and only Son - Jesus Christ.

This is Mary - an ordinary person who allowed an Extraordinary God to plan within her the word that became flesh and dwelt among us - Jesus our Lord.  Mary should inspire all of us to look for God in our lives anew.  To look for God - seek God - and expect God to move in the impossible areas of our own lives - because our God - is a God of the impossible!

Our God can transform our hopelessness into hope - our pain into healing - our judgment into grace - our hate into love - our lack of patience into an abundance of mercy and presence with others.  Thanks be to God for Mary - the mother of Jesus - who modeled all these things for the world to see!  Thanks be to God.

In Christ,

PT

Hello friends.  So in week 2 of our sermon series entitled "Ordinary People, Extraordinary God" we look at Matthew 4: 18-22.  "As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea - for they were fishermen.  And he said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.'  Immediately they left their nets and followed him.  As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.  Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him."

So, Peter, Andrew, James, and John.  4 ordinary people who received an extraordinary call from Jesus.  A call to sow love where there is hate.  A call to sow peace where there is division.  A call to sow mercy and forgiveness where there is judgment and struggle.  A call that 4 ordinary people took by leaving what they knew how to do - fish.  To fish for people by modeling these very qualities with all whom they met.  Modeling these qualities in thought, word, and deed - and by doing so - living a life of discipleship for all the world to see.  Check out the video above friends and have a great week!

In Christ,

PT

Grace and peace to you friends, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  So, on Sunday we began a new spring sermon series entitled "Ordinary People Extraordinary God."  This sermon series will be a five-week journey into the lives of five New Testament people or groups focused on how God used them as instruments of proclamation, grace, love, mercy, and understanding.  On Sunday we began our journey with John the Baptist and this coming Sunday we will continue our journey looking at the first disciples.

Just as God equipped ordinary folks to engage the brokenness of the world so long ago, God does the same through us today.  What we consider ordinary God can transform into extraordinary!  As part of God's big family throughout the ages we continue the faithful work of those who came before us.  One day at a time.  One person at a time.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.
Check out the above video for some additional content.

In Christ,

Pastor Todd

Hello friends in Christ!  He is Risen!  He is Risen indeed and because he is we are called to live a "Resurrection Life."  For "Resurrection" is not the ending friends.  It is just the beginning!  Go out each day and greet the world with a Resurrection Attitude!  An attitude rooted in love and not hate.  An attitude rooted in forgiveness not judgment.  An attitude rooted in healing and not hurt.  Today, now more than ever may our thoughts, words, and actions reflect the love of Christ anew to everyone we meet.  Please check out the following video below and remember friends - Resurrection living is just the beginning!  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Todd

As you move through the days of Holy Week there is Scripture, followed by a brief introduction to the day and the prayer connection.  Each day has two prayer activity options for you to choose from.  One is craft based and the other is more of a science experiment.  For Maundy Thursday there are two Scripture and prayer practice options to choose from: one based on the Last Supper and one for the Garden of Gethsemane.  (Sparkhouse Inc.)

Enjoy these fun family activities during Holy Week!  We hope this resource from Sparkhouse will deepen your faith as we approach Easter Sunday!  Enjoy!

In Christ,

Pastor Todd

Simply defined, The Three Days (Triduum in Latin) are the three days of Holy Week which focus intensely on Christ’s passage from death to life: Maundy Thursday evening through Easter evening.

The keeping of The Three Days has its roots in springtime rituals and in the Jewish celebration of the Passover. The Jewish people observed the passage from winter to spring by slaughtering a lamb and sharing a meal. This meal recalled the saving power of God and their thankfulness not only to have survived winter, but to have been freed from slavery.
Christians layered onto this practice the observation of the death and resurrection of another lamb, Christ, the Lamb of God. The date for this observation coincided with the Jewish Passover.

In the second and third centuries, this festival continued to evolve. Pascha (from the Greek, meaning “passage,” as in Christ’s passage from death to new life) became not only linked to the Passover as described in Exodus, but also the to waters of Baptism. Individuals or families were baptized at this time of the year. Thus what began as a Jewish celebration of the Passover became an annual celebration of the Resurrection (see Keeping Time: the Church’s Years, by Gail Ramshaw and Mons Teig, page 94).

This annual celebration had become a three day observance by the fourth century. After a period of preparation, Christians were welcomed into the church through baptism at the Vigil of Easter. Although Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and The Vigil were observed on three days, the event was regarded as one ritual with a dismissal given only at the Easter Vigil.

Over time, the practice of keeping The Three Days waned and other Holy Week rituals developed. Only in the twentieth century has the church witnessed a renewal of this feast.
(Source - A Brief Introduction to the Three Days/blogs.elca.org)

At the center of the great three days is the Cross.  The Cross - a symbol of Jesus crucifixion and resurrection.  The Cross - a symbol of death and a victory over death.  The Cross - the tree upon which our Savior gave all for all.  God's peace be with you this Holy Week friends.  Check out this powerful video about THE CROSS.  May it guide your heart as you walk through Holy Week here in 2024.

In Christ,

Pastor Todd