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Our Senior Pastor welcomes you to our weekly Friday Blessings update! In This Issue
Preaching Pastor Wells is preaching at Saturday Evening worship @ 5:00 p.m. and Traditional Services (8:00 and 10:15 a.m.). Pastor Elyse is preaching at our Community of Joy worship (9:00 and 10:15 a.m.) as well as LIGHT worship on Sunday evening @6:00 p.m. Pastor Reents is preaching at a special First Communion Service @ 11:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary where 27 children will be receiving their first communion after having been a part of a week-long series of evening classes, in preparation for this special event. Traditional Worship Services are in the Sanctuary as well as the First Communion Service. All other worship services are in the Parish Life Center. For More Info |
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Worship This Weekend 
This is the 7th Sunday after Pentecost. In the Gospel from Matthew 10:40-42, Jesus sends his disciples out to do ministry. He makes a significant connection, which applies to each of us as well.. . . "Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me." It is a strong encouragement that our ministry of hospitality and welcome is one of the most important ministries we share. Do you think about "welcoming" someone when you attend worship? Do you "welcome" those you know or someone you don't know? Do you agree with Jesus' words that "whoever welcomes you, welcomes me?" In the lesson from Romans 6:12-23, St. Paul encourages us to be "slaves of righteousness" rather than "slaves of sin." By God's grace, we have been set free from the slavery to sin and we have been made right with God and therefore are "slaves of righteousness." In this sense, being a "slave" is not a negative term, because our obedience is now to God and the free gift of God's grace now brings us freedom to do and to be all that God intends for us to be. This is the great paradox of the faith. Being enslaved to God, frees us to live obediently under God's grace. Join us for worship this weekend to learn more of this wonderful principle of our faith relationship with our God! 
Update on Worship This weekend will be the final weekend for our weekly L.I.G.H.T. worship services. Beginning in July and continuing through the year, L.I.G.H.T. worship will take place ONLY on the 2nd Sunday evening of each month at 6:00 p.m. This new schedule will provide for continued music involvement by our youth band and worship leaders. While L.I.G.H.T. worship will continue to have youth leadership, all members of the congregation are invited to attend this worship experience! Thought for the Day "The challenge of the Gospel lies precisely in the invitation to accept a gift for which we can give nothing in return. For the gift is the very life breath of God, the Spirit who is poured out on us through Jesus Christ. This life breath frees us from fear and gives us new room to live." - Henri Nouwen from With Open Hands. The Christian faith is founded not upon your action or my action, but upon God's action . . . God loving us with a love that will not let us go. God chooses to dwell among us in Christ, taking human form. God seeks relationship and reconciliation with all the world. God adopts us as daughters and sons. Our task is simply to receive the gift, to recognize and live in the assurance that all that we have in life . . . and indeed, all that we are . . . comes as a gift from God. Once we embrace this gracious gift of love, which we cannot earn and which cannot be repaid, only then are we freed to become gracious givers ourselves. Prayer of the Day O, GOD, YOU DIRECT OUR LIVES BY YOUR GRACE, AND YOUR WORDS OF JUSTICE AND MERCY RESHAPE THE WORLD. MOLD US INTO A PEOPLE WHO WELCOME YOUR WORD AND SERVE ONE ANOTHER, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR AND LORD. AMEN. (Evangelical Lutheran Worship) Alive in Christ, |
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