Sunday Morning Worship - 3/25/2018

This Sunday often seems caught between two poles. On one hand, we recall Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem to the shouts of hosanna. On the other hand, the Gospel seems to jump the gun at Holy Week and tell the whole story nearly a week ahead. The Epistle forms a bridge between the two, reminding us that Jesus did not enter for the accolades of the crowd but to be obedient unto death, even death on a cross, to save us. The crowd’s welcome was prophetic in this regard—calling on Him who would save them, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Today we add our voices in welcome, knowing that in order to save us from sin and its death, our Lord had to suffer in our place on the cross and die in our place to set us free from sin and its death. What a great entrance into Holy Week!

Please join us for Sunday worship at 8:20 AM or 11:00 AM.  Pastor Cory J. Rajek's message is titled “Blessed Be the King” based on Zechariah 9:9-12.

Sunday's bulletin can be found at this Bulletins Link.

Sunday Morning Worship - 3/18/2018

Over the years, Jesus’ twelve apostles have been assigned different symbols or “shields,” which bear emblems that remind us of an aspect of their life. The symbol often used for John, one of the sons of Zebedee, is a chalice with a serpent in it. This unflattering symbol comes from today’s Gospel, where John and his brother James ask to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand. Jesus responds, “The cup that I drink you will drink” (Mark 10:39a). John does not understand what He asks for. But in time he will see that Jesus will drink from the cup of suffering, the cup of death, the cup filled with the sin of the world—because it was the will of His Father. Thanks be to God that Jesus drank this cup for John and for us to give salvation.

Please join us for Sunday worship at 8:20 AM or 11:00 AM.  Pastor Cory J. Rajek's message is titled “The Key To Godly Greatness” based on Mark 10:35-45.

Sunday's bulletin can be found at this Bulletins Link.

Sunday Morning Worship - 3/11/2018

Fiery serpents. Snakebites. Death from poisonous venom. A bronze serpent atop a pole. This sounds more like a scene out of Hollywood than out of the Bible! Yet, these are all part of the picture that unfolds in today’s Old Testament Reading, where we encounter the elements of sin, punishment, repentance, and rescue. This all might make for a confusing script, except Jesus sheds light on what it all means. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14–15). We should see ourselves in this account, but more important, we should see our Savior.

Please join us for Sunday worship at 8:20 AM or 11:00 AM.  Pastor Terry Nassz's message is titled “The Journey for Life ” based on John 3:14-21.

Sunday's bulletin can be found at this Bulletins Link.

Sunday Morning Worship - 3/4/2018

Perhaps it was as David gazed into the sky with a sense of wonder and awe that the Holy Spirit inspired him to write the words of today’s Psalm, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). When we turn our eyes heavenward and see the brightness of the sun, the glow of the moon, or the multitude of stars, we can sense that there is more than meets the eye. Creation reveals that a Creator must be behind this wonderment! God’s Word shows us that creation bears witness to the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. David is right, “the heavens declare the glory of God.”

Please join us for Sunday worship at 8:20 AM or 11:00 AM.  Pastor Cory J. Rajek's message is titled “In the Presence of God” based on John 2:13-22.

Sunday's bulletin can be found at this Bulletins Link.

Sunday Morning Worship - 2/25/2018

When it comes to human love, it’s fair to say that it comes in different degrees. For instance, even with just a little love for someone, you might be willing to help carry some groceries or get their mail while they’re out of town. But if you have a greater love for someone, you might be open to caring for them when they’re sick or helping them move into a new home. The greatest demonstration of love, however, is to lay down your life for someone else. There’s no greater sacrifice one can make for another. And yet, that’s exactly what Jesus did for us, even though so often we are unloving and unlovable people. “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Please join us for Sunday worship at 8:20 AM or 11:00 AM.  Pastor Joshua Baumann's message is titled ““Serving Jesus Christ Now and Always” ” based on Joshua 24:14-15.

Sunday's bulletin can be found at this Bulletins Link.

Sunday Morning Worship - 2/18/2018

“Here am I.” This is the simple, yet faith-filled, response of Abraham as the Lord calls him. Not knowing what the Lord will call him to do, but simply trusting the Word of the Lord, Abraham says, “Here am I.” As we look through the pages of Scripture those same three little words, “Here am I,” are echoed by others: Jacob, Moses, and Samuel—to name just a few. As people who the Lord has called in Baptism, may we also answer with the same faith-filled response, “Here am I!” We may not always know where God will lead, but we do know that the One who has called us will be with us as we follow where He guides.

Please join us for Sunday worship at 8:20 AM or 11:00 AM.  Pastor Cory J. Rajek's message is titled “The Lord Will Provide” based on Genesis 22:1-18.

Sunday's bulletin can be found at this Bulletins Link.

Sunday Morning Worship - 2/11/2018

This day ends the Epiphany season and prepares us for Lent. Jesus has been revealing His true nature through His words and actions, and on the Mount of Transfiguration three disciples see His glory revealed as transfiguring light. Moses and Elijah appear with Him, talking about His departure in Jerusalem. But our Lord then commands the disciples not to tell about the event until after Easter. Because we live after His resurrection, Paul writes in the Epistle, we recognize Jesus’ true glory in going to the cross for us, for God has “shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Please join us for Sunday worship at 8:20 AM or 11:00 AM.  Pastor Joshua Bauman's message is titled “Jesus Only” based on Mark 9:8.

Sunday's bulletin can be found at this Bulletins Link.

Sunday Morning Worship - 1/28/2018

When the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land and Moses was about to die, he announced that the Lord had promised another prophet to follow him. While the people saw Joshua as that prophet, centuries later, Jesus was the complete fulfillment of the prophecy. When He spoke, all creation—including unclean spirits—obeyed, to the amazement of the people in today’s Holy Gospel. Unfortunately, as Paul reminds us in the Epistle, we do not always hear a clear command from our Lord as we deal with one another. But Jesus’ sacrifice for us frees us to put our neighbor’s needs above our own.

Please join us for Sunday worship at 8:20 AM or 11:00 AM.  Pastor Joshua Bauman's message is titled “This is God's Son, Listen to Him” based on St. Mark 1:26.

Sunday's bulletin can be found at this Bulletins Link.

Sunday Morning Worship - 1/21/2018

Peter, Andrew, James, and John were fishermen by trade. Jesus invited them to follow Him, promising He would make them fishers of men. What could this possibly mean? The prophet Jonah may provide a clue. Swallowed, and then regurgitated by a great fish after running from God, Jonah was given another chance to cast a Gospel net for the people of Nineveh. With only the lure of Jonah’s brief, Law-heavy sermon, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”, God reeled in a bountiful Kingdom-catch, saving more than 120,000 people and animals in that city. Jesus’ own preaching announces the fullness of time, the presence of God’s reign, and invites repentance and faith in the Good News from God, which He embodies and enacts. This message—proclaimed and sacramentally enacted —is the net by which Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies people under God’s gracious reign.

Please join us for Sunday worship at 8:20 AM or 11:00 AM.  Pastor Joshua Bauman's message is titled “Our Hope” based on 1 Peter 3:15.

Sunday's bulletin can be found at this Bulletins Link.

Sunday Morning Worship - 1/14/2018

“Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.” With this invitation, the prophet Samuel opens himself to receive God’s Word for His people. In the Epistle, Paul reminds us that we are not our own. Rather, we belong to the Lord because we have been bought with the price of Jesus’ precious body and blood given and shed for the forgiveness of sins. This Jesus is God’s first and final Word to all humanity—the Logos incarnate. Born in Bethlehem and heading for Golgotha, Jesus invites people to follow Him. From one disciple to another, the invitation is to come and see the One whom Moses and the prophets foretold—Israel’s Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, our Lord and our God.

Please join us for Sunday worship at 8:20 AM or 11:00 AM.  Pastor Cory J. Rajek's message is titled “God Loves Me Dearly” based on John 1:43-51.

Sunday's bulletin can be found at this Bulletins Link.