Grace Chicago Church

This Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. Per our tradition, our children will process with palms early in the service. Please find Kelsey, Director of Grace Kids when you arrive. You are welcome to walk with your little one if that is the encouragement they need!

On Palm Sunday we celebrate Jesus’s entry to Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover. The crowds give him a royal welcome and they are right to do so. He has come to Jerusalem as the rightful heir to David’s throne and he will soon be recognized by all as the Messiah. But how Jesus becomes king will defy human wisdom and religious expectation. He is a king like no other, holding power for the sake of others, for our salvation and for the life of the world.

It is often noted that Transfiguration Sunday, which we celebrated two weeks ago, marks the transition from the Season of Epiphany to the Season of Lent. Culminating with the transfiguration, the Season of Epiphany has revealed the glory and power of Jesus. Lent, culminating with events that lead us to Good Friday, reveals that with Jesus, power and glory are there for our sake and for our salvation. In Jesus, power and glory are not like they are in the world; they come in the shape of the cross. 

We hope you can join us this Sunday, The Fifth Sunday in Lent. This Sunday we are addressed by the provocative and mysterious words of Jesus where he says: “when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself”. We look forward to thinking together what Jesus meant when he said this and its overall meaning in the life of the church, then and today. 

The Third Sunday in Lent. This Sunday our Scripture readings prompt us to remember that human wisdom does not enable us to grasp how God is at work in the world. For that, we need God’s wisdom revealed in the person of Jesus. We will explore what that means for us in the nitty gritty of daily life. 

It is often noted that Transfiguration Sunday, which we celebrated two weeks ago, marks the transition from the Season of Epiphany to the Season of Lent. Culminating with the transfiguration, the Season of Epiphany has revealed the glory and power of Jesus. Lent, culminating with events that lead us to Good Friday, reveals that with Jesus, power and glory are there for our sake and for our salvation. In Jesus, power and glory are not like they are in the world; they come in the shape of the cross. 

The First Sunday of Epiphany

January 6th, marks the Feast of the Epiphany on the Christian calendar. We will celebrate Epiphany this Sunday during the worship service. Year after year, for centuries, the church has celebrated on Epiphany the revelation that Jesus’ redemptive love is for all people, the whole world. This marvelous truth is manifested in the visit of the mysterious Gentile pilgrims, the Magi, who travel from a distant country so that they may pay Jesus homage.

Homily Preview:

This Sunday we join churches all over the world in celebrating the Reign of Christ, sometimes referred to as Christ the King Sunday. Click here for a brief overview of how this Sunday fits into the church year. One theme that is common to this special Sunday is the sovereignty of Christ and its implications. We will take that theme up on Sunday and highlight the way in which God's judgment is always ordered towards redemption. We hope to see you on Sunday!

The homily this Sunday, is based on a reading from the Gospel of Mark. The context is the same context we have been working with the last few Sundays. Jesus is in Jerusalem during Passover. He will soon be delivered up to Pilate in a collusion between the corrupt religious leadership and the Roman authorities. Jesus is taking these last few days before the crucifixion to teach the disciples in a very focused way about the Kingdom of God - what it is and what it isn't. One thing that seems to be on Jesus' mind a lot is the importance of paying attention to how God's love is at work in the world and the importance of being aligned to what God is doing. If we heed what Jesus is saying we will live in ways that are uniquely in line with God's kingdom and in important ways not in line with the kingdoms of this world.

Matthew 25:14-30

This Sunday we will be back in the Gospel Matthew. We will hear a parable that Jesus taught about the urgency of paying attention to what God is doing in the world. We will think about its message in its original context and then ponder how to apply it to our setting in our place in time. Jesus’ words about the importance of paying attention to God’s work in the world is a good reminder for us for any time, but especially in our world today.  I look forward to what God has to teach us. 

Matthew 23:1-12

We return to the Gospel of Matthew this Sunday and continue where we left off last week, contemplating the implications of what it means to wholeheartedly love God and our neighbors.

We are back in Matthew this week for our homily. Last Sunday Leigh Pylman preached a great sermon on the passage where Jesus says: "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's". If you didn't hear it, I encourage you to listen to it online.

This Sunday I I come along a few verses later in the same general context of Matthew where the religious leaders, the elite who hold power in Jerusalem, are continuing to bait Jesus with insincere questions designed to be traps. But just like all the other times, Jesus gives an answer that further indicates that he is the one in the room who is wise and who represents Yahweh and the Old Testament law truthfully and fully.

The exchange this week revolves around the question: "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus answer is simple and profound.  "He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

I look forward to thinking with you all about what this meant in its original context and how we might learn from it in our place in time.

Matthew 22:15-22

This week, Jesus has another peppery encounter with the religious elite in Jerusalem. He is asked about paying taxes to the Roman occupiers. In Jesus fashion, he reframes our questions, categories, and suppositions. He invites us to consider how to give God, what belongs to God - everything! If we live as Jesus followers with this understanding, we can (on our knees!) strive to see the world the way God sees it, and discern the Spirit's guiding as we engage with society today.