Graceful Foundations of Hope Matthew 28:1-10 The Lord is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! May our lives proclaim our resurrection faith on this holy day and on every day to come! Grow in Christ and know that he loves you deeply!

Easter Vigil Psalm 19 [one_half] Traditionally the Easter Vigil is a prayerful liturgical event that begins in the dark of night. Participants gather in silence as an ember is struck from flint to spark the first hint of a flame. Soon the flame grows large enough to stand on its own. It is placed under a prepared stack of abundant fuel where…

Good Friday John 18:1-19:42 Good Friday worship tonight at 7:00 [one_half] The words were written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. It was nailed at the top of the cross to mock the Messiah. But Pilate knew better. He knew that this was indeed the King of the Jews. At his baptism John the Baptist…

Holy Thursday I Corinthians 11:23-26 [one_half] Over the years I have taken the Lord’s Supper into any number of homes, hospitals, and nursing homes. I almost always prepare the elements out of a small portable communion set before we pray together. Then I read the words from I Corinthians 11 where Paul describes the gift of the Lord’s Supper as he received…

Wednesday of Holy Week Hebrews 12:1-3 [one_half] The last thing we want to do in this week is to lose sight of the Lord. There are lots of preparations for the Sunday meal, the time of family worship, and visits from friends. But there is another task at hand as well. It is a spiritual task of giving thanks for all those…

Tuesday of Holy Week I Corinthians 1:18-31 Our reading today reminds us of the wisdom of this week. But, as we have seen, wisdom comes with a cost. Today the cost is the cross but the wisdom also arises from the same image. I Corinthians 1:18 is actually the key passage for the entire book. For the message of the cross is…

Monday of Holy Week Isaiah 42:1-9 [one_half] The Prophet Isaiah provides us with a variety of imagery that tends to direct our hearts toward Jesus as the Messiah.  Here we have one of the suffering servant images where we discover that the Messiah will not falter or be discouraged until justice is established on the earth.  We learn that he will open…

Graceful Foundations of Justice Matthew 21:1-11 Today our journey into Jerusalem with Jesus begins as Jesus makes his way into the city under branches of palm.   It is the start of Holy Week.  I hope you will be with us in worship throughout the week so our hearts can be truly ready for the blessing of Easter!

How Are You? Psalm 31:9-16 [one_half] We come to the close of another week. Holy week is on the horizon and our Lenten journey will soon come to a close. Before we step into Holy Week let me ask you an important question. Have you ever had a Psalm 31 kind of feeling? Have you ever felt broken, consumed, forgotten, weary and…

A Prayer For the Church Philippians 1:1-11 [one_half] Join us tonight at 6:00 in the sanctuary for an hour of prayer, study, and encouraging conversation.  We will be focused on our readings for the past week.  Be sure to bring your questions to share and your smile as well!   Child care is always provided with joy! I love to pray for our…

The Living God Matthew 22:23-33 [one_half] Yesterday, I urged you to know the healing power of grace that comes to us through the gift of salvation.  I pray that your life is being made fresh and alive every day! That actually is the point of our reading for today as well.  It is an interesting question that came to Jesus about the…

Turning Points Ephesians 2:1-10 [one_half] Do you love the round-a-bouts on our roads?  I hear some people saying that they love them because they give people the opportunity to cooperate at intersections.  Other people don’t seem to like them because they slow things down and it is really embarrassing to go around more than one full lap without ever figuring out where…

Topeka! Psalm 143 [one_half] I have been known to get lost from time to time. I was driving with a friend from Tulsa to Denver when we got into a deep conversation about the church. Our conversation was making so much headway that he was even taking notes as we talked. We were heading north on I-35 on our way to Wichita…

Graceful Foundations of Healing John 11:1-27 We will be back in the saddle today with worship that is focused on one of the most misunderstood but most critical issues of the Christian faith. Come join us as we worship our Lord together and focus on the healing power of God. Take time to read the account of Lazarus in preparation for our…

The Nature of Love Psalm 130 [one_half] I have a friend who seems to love to hold a grudge.  He wouldn’t describe himself in that way but it sure seems to be the case to me.  His conversations often go back to the time when someone said something or did something that he did not appreciate.  His employer was always wrong.  And…