In a sense, prayer comes naturally to us. We want so we ask. We hurt so we cry out. We are frustrated so we vent. We are blessed so we give thanks. So we sometimes define prayer as “speaking to God from the heart.” Seems so easy. What does not come naturally, however, is the focused prayer God wants for us. We need focus when it comes to the basis of our prayers. Our prayers are based entirely on the unique and unearned relationship with have with God, our Father. We also need focus when it comes to the content of our prayers. Yes, we can speak from the heart and ask for anything we want. But our Father invites us to pray specifically for the things he wants to give us. Prayer is the opportunity to bring our will into conformity with God’s will, not the other way around. We have much to learn about prayer. So, along with Jesus’ disciples, we say, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).

The Bible reading for this message is Luke 11:1-13.

This message is Part 3 in our series: Focused.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

We call worship a "service.” Which raises the question: who is serving whom? In answering that question, it is easy to focus on what we do in worship. “I set aside time in my week to come to church. I am singing praise to God. I brought him an offering. Clearly, I am serving him.” True enough. However, as God speaks this week, he clarifies our focus, letting us see that worship is primarily about him serving us. Through Word and sacrament, he delivers every spiritual gift he wants us to receive. Our service to God is good. His service for us is perfect. Our service to God is important. His service for us is essential. God loves our service to him, but we desperately need his service for us as he gives us what he has promised.

The Bible reading for this message is Luke 10:38-42.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 2 in our series: Focused.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

We tend to think of distraction and focus as opposites. If someone is focused, they are not easily distracted by random events and encounters. If someone is focused, every decision about how to spend time and resources is calculated. Apart from Christ that type of focus spells disaster for our neighbor. We may dismiss the needs of our neighbor, thinking, “If I spend time helping him, that will distract me from other things I should be focused on.” Today, Jesus teaches us that he has set us free to live a life of such distractions. No matter the neighbor and no matter his need, we are free to act in ways that seem senseless. We are free to actively seek out a neighbor in need. We are free to bear any cost and go any distance to serve them as Christ would serve them.

The Bible reading for this message is Luke 10:25-37.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 1 in our series: Focused.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Christ has not only given us his powerful Word. In his grace, he gives us ministers who proclaim that Word to us in whatever ways we need at the time: words of comfort, words of instruction, or even words of rebuke. Those who are entrusted with the care of Jesus' flock are expected to shepherd that flock just as Jesus would. They humbly assume that privilege, not to proclaim their own ideas or opinions, but to speak Jesus’ own words. They share Christ’s words, not just when it is welcomed gladly by those who hear it, but also when it is not. Ministers carry out their calling, not because of what they might gain from the flock, but because of what the flock might gain from Jesus through them. God’s words possess God’s power. Therefore, God provides us with ministers to proclaim God’s Word, so that God’s kingdom might come powerfully among us.

The Bible reading for this message is Luke 10:1-12, 16-20.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 4 in our series: God's Words Possess God's Power.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

There’s the type of fan who follows his team if they make the playoffs. Then there’s the type of fan who, regardless of his team’s record, watches every game and knows the stats for every player. There are different types of followers: the half-hearted versus the committed. Jesus is uninterested in half-hearted followers who shoehorn him into their lives only when their other pursuits provide time for the Christ. Jesus wants followers who are all-in… who love him above all things… who would be willing to leave everything else behind if that were what it would take to be with him. We simply do not have it in us to produce that level of commitment. But Jesus’ words have Jesus’ power. In his gospel Jesus explains how he went all in for our salvation. He tells us he left the comforts of heaven behind to come rescue us. And through those words Christ creates within us the very commitment that he seeks.

The Bible reading for this message is 1 Kings 19:19-21.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 3 in our series: God's Words Possess God's Power.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

God’s words are so powerful! With only his words, Jesus cured illness and raised the dead. With his words, Jesus created the faith that receives his forgiveness. So we should not be surprised this week when we see that Jesus’ words also have the power to push back the spiritual forces of evil that are in the world. Jesus’ words expose idols as worthless and following idols as self-destructive evil. Jesus’ words are so compelling, even demons must obey them. It is not surprising that God’s words crush evil. It is a surprise, however, to see that Jesus’ words have Jesus’ power even when they are not coming from Jesus’ mouth. Jesus puts his words on our lips. He makes us his witnesses. And as we carry out that awesome role, Jesus continues to drive back Satan and his allies, just as he did when he walked the earth.

The Bible reading for this message is Luke 8:26-39.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 2 in our series: God's Words Possess God's Power.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

The Scriptures never use the words “Trinity” or “triune.” They never even summarize in any single place the entirety of this doctrine. Instead, in the Word, God gives us hints and glimpses of his triune nature. Thus, the doctrine of the Trinity can seem very academic, even abstract. It may seem to have little relevance to our daily lives. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. As God provides those hints and glimpses, his primary focus is on the way in which his triune nature is a blessing to us. God shows us how we benefit from the fact he exists as Trinity. God dwells in a “majesty and mystery” that far exceed our understanding, but here is what we can understand. Every time we gather in the name of our Triune God, we receive indescribable blessings.

The Bible reading for this message is Numbers 6:22-27.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 1 in our series: God's Words Possess God's Power.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

How does God deal with mankind? By sending Jesus to be the Word made flesh, God changed the paradigm. Now Jesus has ascended into heaven to represent us before the Father, but what the victory march of the gospel? Has it halted because Jesus is no longer visibly among us? On the Day of Pentecost, Jesus answered that question by pouring out the Holy Spirit to be our constant companion until his return. Yet that begs another question: Where is the Holy Spirit to be found? Where do we go to hear from him? God has never left us in doubt. When Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, he indicated that his work would be connected to the Word. Christ’s victory march continues as the Spirit goes out through the gospel to the world!

The Bible readings for this message are John 14:23-27.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 9 in our Easter series: Victorious.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

When Jesus ascended into heaven, his work on earth was complete. Yet the ascension of Jesus also marks that his work is just beginning. Through the Church, Jesus now proclaims forgiveness throughout the world. The Church consists of people like us who are often weak and timid witnesses for Christ. For that reason, Jesus promised to send his Spirit to give us power that we might take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

The Bible readings for this message are Acts 1:1-11 and Luke 24:44-53.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 8 in our Easter series: Victorious.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Easter proves that God can take what normally causes people to weep and turn it into what causes people to rejoice. Sin, death, and shame went into Jesus' tomb. Forgiveness, life, and glory came out. Our risen Savior gives us a joy that remains constant in the highest of life's highs and the lowest of life's lows. It is a joy that can never be taken from us.

The Bible reading for this message is Revelation 21:21-27.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 7 in our Easter series: Victorious.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!