Did you know that the sense of smell is considered the best trigger for memory? According to scientists: “Unlike other senses, smell signals travel directly to the olfactory bulb, which is situated close to the amygdala (emotion processing) and hippocampus (memory storage), allowing for a quick and powerful memory trigger.”

And smell has a lot to do with our Bible story this week. It is a little scene that takes place in the house of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. It was Mary who made it happen. In an act of worship, Mary broke a very costly bottle of anointing oil and poured it on Jesus’ feet. And John says, “the smell filled the whole room.”

In other words Mary’s beautiful act of worship transformed that little house in Bethany into the kingdom of God.

I am excited to explore this more in worship this weekend! See you soon.

Blessings,

Pastor Tim Delkeskamp

Luke is my favorite gospel, for many reasons. One of those reasons is that Luke is the only gospel writer who tells the triad of the “lost stories” – the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son.

Whether these stories are old or new to you, I invite you to come to worship as we dig into Luke 15 and ponder both the simplicity and the profoundness of Jesus’ telling these parables. And I will say that no matter what your week has been like – hard or easy or in between – I believe there is something about coming to worship that can help us feel more “found,” or in other words, more seen, loved, and renewed.

I hope to see you this weekend as we continue to walk with Jesus in Lent.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Chamie

Repent!

What images and thoughts come to your mind when you hear this word? Is it a heavy one that conjures up John the Baptist-style street preachers? Is it one of those big heavy religious words that is only pulled out for big heavy religious situations?

Martin Luther didn’t think so. In fact, I get the sense that he loved this word. For him, repentance was a deliberate daily process that reminded him that though he tended to want to go his own way, he should go God’s way instead.

This is Jesus’ take on the word too. Repentance is a way of life. To put it another way, it means we are called to walk with Jesus instead of our own way. Or finally another way, when we are walking with Jesus, we are walking in repentance.

I can’t wait to explore this more in worship this weekend.

Blessings,

Pastor Tim Delkeskamp

On this Lutheran Schools Weekend, we will remember how God was faithful to Abram. We will remember how God has been faithful to all his children and to generations of Lutheran students. We will hear a word of encouragement to keep walking in faith. Pastor Rich Gregory is preaching. He is also principal of Ascension Lutheran School and has deep knowledge of how this latest generation is approaching faith. It's the subject of his doctoral dissertation. 

I am grateful to be on this Lent journey with you. This weekend marks the first weekend of Lent. As we gather for worship, we will hear the story of Jesus’ 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness. As I read this week’s gospel, I recalled a song that I first heard while in seminary: Michael Card’s “In the Wilderness.” This is one of the verses:

In the wilderness we’re wondering For a way to understand In the wilderness there’s not a way For the ways become a man And the man’s become the exodus The way to holy ground And wandering in the wilderness Is the best way to be found

Join us for worship as we ponder wandering in the wilderness and the Jesus who finds us.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Chamie

Wouldn't it be nice if life offered easy answers? But the world is more complex and messy than that. 

If you have been on the Epiphany journey with us you know that we have been talking about living wisely and well as followers of Christ. You also may have picked up through our posts and “teasers” that there is a surprise coming this weekend in worship.

What is that surprise?

Come on… if I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.

I can tell you it is about living boldly. Followers of Jesus have always been called to have courage. Whether it’s simply leaving our comfort zone or speaking a prophetic word, we are called to trust that when we take what feels like a risk for the sake of Jesus and the gospel, He will use it to build His kingdom.

It’s going to be fun this weekend in worship. See you there.

Blessings,

Pastor Tim

It is the hardest personal teaching in the entire Bible. It is the one that challenges us the most. Are you ready? It’s: “Love your enemies and pray for them.”

It’s hard. And yet we are called to do so. So how do we do it? Well, it starts with realizing that we can’t do it on our own. Next, we need to understand that we are loved by God so much that we can be generous with that love. In other words, that we can love our enemies with God‘s love.

Let’s talk about this more this weekend as we talk about living generously.

Blessings,

Pastor Tim

This weekend we are team preaching. It seemed fitting to have a little “he said/she said” considering that not only is it Valentine’s Day Weekend, but February 14th is our 26th wedding anniversary.

As we dig into the scripture this weekend at worship, we are going to share some thoughts of what it truly means to be “blessed” (spoiler alert – it doesn’t mean you’re rich and famous). We are blessed when we are rooted in God’s love and God’s word.

We will continue to explore what it means to live wisely and well, this week focusing on living rootedly. It’s a message for everyone, single and married, young and old.

Being that it’s Valentine’s weekend, we will also be adding a special blessing for couples as a part of the worship service. We look forward to seeing you.

Grace & Peace,

Pastors Tim & Chamie