As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him,

“Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!”

Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings?

Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

Mark 13:1–2

The Temple in Jerusalem was the most sacred place for the Jewish people.

It was a place of worship, reverence, and pride.

When Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple it would have provoked a big reaction, both among the disciples and his adversaries.

His prophesy is more than a prediction but a theological reframing of God’s presence in the world.

Join us Sunday for more!

Message delivered by Pastor Ben Sandin.

For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.

Mark 12:44

The story of the widow’s “mite” (a very small denomination of money) is a story of faith in God’s provisions.

Jesus is at the Temple watching people make financial gifts, with some wealthy people giving large sums.

Jesus sees the widow place two small copper coins in the collection and he sees her great faith.

She gave all that she had, trusting God would provide for her needs.

Jesus too gave all he had for our sakes, an act of generous love and sacrifice.

Join us Sunday as we consider God’s abundance and our invitation to live in response.

Message delivered by Pastor Ben Sandin.

When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.

John 11:32–33

On Sunday we will remember all the saints who gone to heaven before us, particularly those who have died in the past year.

As we remember these beloved children of God, we are grounded in God’s promise of eternal life and reminded of God’s presence in our struggles.

The gospel text features the interaction that Mary and Martha have with Jesus after their brother Lazarus has died.

Jesus is deeply moved by their grief and begins to weep.

Jesus shows God’s heart for the hurting and reminds us we never walk alone.

Join us Sunday as we remember our loved ones.

Message delivered by Pastor Ben Sandin.

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples;

and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

John 8:31–32

On Sunday we will celebrate and remember the Reformation.

One of Martin Luther’s great contributions to the church was a renewed emphasis on studying scripture.

Jesus tells would be followers to “continue in my word” to understand the truth about God and life.

This same invitation is given to us, to study, learn, and live out the Word of God.

Join us Sunday as we highlight the importance of the Word for the church and our world today.

Message delivered by Pastor Ben Sandin.

Message delivered by Pastor Ben Sandin.

Message delivered by Pastor Nate Winterhof.

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them;

and the disciples spoke sternly to them.

But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them,

“Let the little children come to me; do not stop them;

for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.

Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”

Mark 10:13–15

In the past few weeks, our gospel texts have featured Jesus interacting with children in positive ways.

This may seem natural to us, but in the ancient world children held a very low social status.

This explains why the disciples were trying to keep the children away from Jesus.

Following custom, they felt children were not worthy of Jesus’ time.

Jesus corrects them and points to the faith of a child being integral to receiving the Kingdom of God.

Join us Sunday as we consider Jesus’ teachings.

Message delivered by Pastor Ben Sandin.

Whoever is not against us is for us.

Mark 9:40

These words of Jesus are spoken to the disciples who heard of someone, not following Jesus, who was healing people in Jesus’ name.

Their instinct was to stop this man because he was not part of their group.

This “us v. them” mentality is pervasive in our world now and in Jesus’ time.

We love to make distinctions of who is in and who is out, and we can become very precise about how these lines are drawn.

Jesus teaches us to consider things differently.

Join us Sunday as we consider how following Jesus leads us to include rather than exclude.

Message delivered by Pastor Ben Sandin.

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them,

“What were you arguing about on the way?”

But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest.

He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

Mark 9:33–35

I have a confession to make: I am competitive.

I like to compete and I like to win.

Over the years, I have learned to temper my impulses but sometimes it doesn’t work.

The disciples were humans just like us who at times got things right and other times not so much.

In our gospel for Sunday the disciples are arguing among themselves which of them was the greatest.

Presumably they were nominating themselves as the best disciple, rather than seeing greatness in each other.

Jesus reminds them the best way to follow him is to serve others, not to look good or be noticed, but because it is the right thing to do.

Message delivered by Pastor Ben Sandin.

But no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God.

James 3:8–9

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

This childhood saying comes so easily to me and yet we know it is definitely not true.

In many cases, we carry with us the unkind words spoken to us our whole lifetime, particularly when those words were shared by a loved one.

James encourages the church to watch what we say and how we say it.

With our speech we have the power to raise people up, praise the Lord, and show kindness and love.

We also have the capacity to tear people down, spew lies and hate, and blaspheme God.

Let us welcome the Spirit to lead us in the power of our speech.

Message delivered by Pastor Ben Sandin.