10th Sunday of Pentecost Worship Service 8:30AM.  First Reading 1 Kings 19:9-18;  Second Reading Romans 10:5-15; Gospel Matthew 14:22-33.  God’s people of Messiah, did you notice how beautiful your feet were this week? Did you see the beautiful feet making quilts? Did you see the beautiful feet in the men’s bible study? Did you see the beautiful feet while serving Saturday Suppers yesterday? How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! In the gospel reading, it was Peter’s feet that took him out onto the water to meet the risen Lord.  Jesus sends the disciples ahead of him in a boat while he withdraws alone into the hills to pray.  The sea was long thought to be a place of chaos, the home of dark powers that threaten the goodness of the created order and the goodness of life. The sea is here a barrier that separates the disciples from Jesus, who is the presence of God.  Peter is the typical disciple—even as a believer in the resurrected Lord, he gets out of the boat because he wanted proof that Christ really did exist. So he left the boat. Peter desires to imitate Jesus; he cries to Jesus in his distress; and he has faith, even if it is only ‘little’ faith. As a disciple of little faith, he is filled with courage and anxiety, trust and doubt. Peter and the disciples are not completely without faith, nor is their faith perfect. Even at the end, when they fall worshiping at the feet of the risen Jesus, some doubted, just as Peter doubted in this instance. The story about Peter shows us what it means to be a Christian today caught at times between faith and doubt. Sometimes we believe. Sometimes we have little faith. Peter represents all who dare to believe that Jesus is Savior, take their first steps in confidence that he is able to sustain them, but then also forget to keep their gaze fixed on Jesus.  In the depth of crisis, when all seems lost, faith is remembering to call on the Savior and find his grace sufficient for our needs, whose power is made perfect in weakness, in death and resurrection. The presence of God does not mean there will be no storms or troubles, for it is precisely in the midst of life’s dangers that we experience God’s presence. It is when we are sinking that God lifts us up. In confident faith and trust we come closer to God and even with the smallest faith, receive a share in God’s presence that gives us life in the face of the forces of chaos. In time of trouble, we return to our Lord crying, “Lord, save us!” and confessing, “Truly you are the Son of God!”

9th Sunday of Pentecost, 8:30AM Worship Service - First Reading Isaiah 55:1-5; Second Reading Romans 9:1-5; Gospel Matthew 14:13-21. The message is of hope and salvation, whether exiled from homeland, or each other during a pandemic, God is Faithful.  God invites everyone to the holy banquet - an enduring relationship with God, and quality of life that is marked by God's grace and faithfulness. We have been claimed, gathered, and sent as God's baptized people and we go to feed a spiritually and physically hungry world.  We go not just because it is a good thing to do, but because of the compassion of Jesus the Christ; his dying so this hungry, broken world may have life.  Jesus, then and still, is still blesses people through the work of his followers. Take part in the mission, be blessed to be a blessing to the world. Take Action! Be Involved! Discipleship is not just about following but Participation!  In the words of Jesus "You Do it! You can't sit back and watch me do all this awesome stuff. Live it! I am counting on You!"  
 

8th Sunday of Pentecost.  First Reading 1 Kings 3:5-12; Second Reading Romans 8:26-39; Gospel Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52So…how did you experience the Kingdom of God last week?  Sometimes it is difficult to see the kingdom of God breaking into this world.  the gospel of Matthew assures us the kingdom of God will come in God’ s power and glory. Jesus’ parables of the gospel mess things up with our lives. They are about a kingdom that is unexpected, often outrageous, absurd and operates completely different than the world, where the last are first and the lowly are lifted up.  Without Christ we have nothing, and we transformed into the forgiven and redeemed people of God by the power of the cross.  These parables challenge our preconceived ideas of how God must work to bring in the kingdom. Symbols so simple and unassuming as a mustard seed and yeast are scandalous symbols of a crucified Messiah who rode to his coronation on a donkey. The parables are about God’s action in the world—sometimes imperceptible or hidden, but nonetheless real. These parables call for faith in the God who is active in even the smallest ways.  There will always be people who believe and those who do not.  Our lives as God’s people are reflected in these parables of Matthew, chapter thirteen. We are the disciples who respond to the Word of Jesus and become a different community in the world. In a world of conflicts over religion, race, beliefs and history, these parables call us to faithful watching and participation in the present day for the works of God. It may seem at times that God’s kingdom is not making a bit of difference in the world, but in the end, God will sort things out. Evil will be done away with.  Jesus reminds us that the kingdom is both coming and already here, that the power of God can and is working in and through us, the kingdom of God is among us, permeating every aspect of our lives, changing, enlightening, and transforming us and the world.  What does the Gospel mean in everyday life? To be a Christian?’ It means when we are stressed, tired, down-trodden, hopeful and hopeless, remember past decisions, in the midst of things we’ve done or things had done to us, God’s baptismal promise on us, the elect of God, is stronger than anything in this world. We are never separated from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus. Our security is not in the economy or national military, but knowing who and whose we are—baptized children of the Triune God.  Where will you experience the Kingdom of God this week? A text message, email or phone call with someone? Every day gestures, even small, can bring about the kingdom of God. Parables give us the faith, the creativity to dare to see God working in this world to bring in the Kingdom in ways we never thought possible!  Because of the kingdom of God, neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, nor pandemic, nor virus, nor isolation and distancing, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
 

July 19 2020 Sunday 8:30AM Worship: In Jesus’ parable this morning, Gospel Matthew  Chapter 13 The sower: In the clearest of terms, Jesus tells his disciples what almost every element of the sower parable represents: "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels". We often question why God allows evil to grow and thrive. Jesus does not deny the reality of evil in our world. We are, like the field in the parable, both mixed and messy, contain wheat and weed, good and evil. We are, as Martin Luther called humanity, saint and sinner at the same time. Jesus says that the reapers --not the slaves --will take care of this at harvest time. "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth". It is the angels -not human beings -who are authorized to pluck out the weeds from the wheat. The central problem in the parable is the impatience and the assumption know exactly what their lord wished. If pulled out weeds, they would have destroyed the good wheat, obliterated the whole harvest. There would have been no fruit, and could have easily become more destructive enemies than the enemy. In other words, by seeking to destroy our enemies, we usually condemn ourselves because we have become just like them. This parable, indicate that there will be a separation at some time in the future: weeds from wheat and this‘harvest’ takes place on God’s time-table not ours. The final judgment is God’s, not ours. It is easy to whip ourselves into a weeding frenzy, and that we know how to deal with weeds! or so we tell ourselves - Jesus trust me!“ Thank God it is not up to us! Focus on the mission Jesus has given us --proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God drawing near. Jesus insists on patience, humility and restraint when it comes to God’s harvest. There is no way we can rid ourselves of everything bad without distorting everything good. When we rush ahead of God and start yanking weeds left and right, we do terrible harm to ourselves and to the field. The fact is, the seeds of God’s life in us are still young and growing. Our roots are delicate and tender and they need time, actually lifetimes. We should not ignore evil. But move gently and with care, recognizing that our task is to grow the good, not burn the bad. Remember, the field is God’s. Only God loves it enough to bring it safely to harvest. The risen Jesus has entrusted you and I with a mission in the world, to gather all of God’s people into the kingdom of God. Holding fast in faith to Lord Jesus Christ, we proclaim the Gospel good news in the world. God’s world is a mixed bag, made up of indescribably good, but also stained by sin and brokenness and every combination in between. It is our job as Christians to show, invite, tell, encourage and lead others to the food that does not perish-Jesus Christ our Lord. It is not our job to decide who is worthy. There will come a day when all that is rebellious against God in the world, and in us, will be removed and destroyed. All that will be left is the harvest.

Sunday July 12 2020 8:30AM 6th Pentecost Sunday Worship Service performed by Pr. Steven Peeler. First reading: Isaiah 55:10-13; Second Reading: Romans 8:1-11; Gospel Reading: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 - The reading from Isaiah 55:10-13 this morning gives a poetic vision of new life after exile. Beginning in the year 597 BCE, God’s people of Judah were over taken by the Babylonian Empire and forced into exile. The prophet Isaiah declares God’s power to transform the entire creation. Isaiah creates a vivid, expansive vision of what comfort will mean for the exiles of Judah and assures them that it is coming soon. Although Isaiah’s words were addressed to exiles in the 6th century BCE, they are beautiful words of comfort and hope for us still today. The Isaiah passage begins with a beautiful comparison of God’s word to rain and snow. By their nature, rain and snow cannot help irrigating the earth, making plants, trees and vegetation grow. Isaiah describes a God who pours down rain and snow from heaven without measure! In the same way, God’s word achieves its divine purposes as well. God’s Word is Abundant. Refreshing. Life-giving. God’s Word works sometimes in quiet, unseen ways that produce an abundance far beyond anything we could have imagined. After decades of disappointed hopes, the Judean exiles needed reassurance that God’s work would accomplish its purpose. Therefore, Isaiah uses human words in this beautiful poetry to convey the power of God’s word. The word of God has come down from heaven, already it is working steadily, accomplishing what it was sent to do. It is only a matter of time before the signs of the people’s restoration will appear. New life is as inevitable as the sprouting of greenery after a rain storm. In verse 12, Isaiah proclaims a new day for the exiles. The people shall ‘go out’, suggesting the return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem. During their return, mountains and hills shall break out in song, while the forest claps the rhythm. Isaiah sees a future day when even the landscape shall be transformed along with God’s people. Weeds shall be replaced by tall trees. This new creation will be an everlasting sign of God’s Word at work in the world. All of creation experiences and benefits from the revelation of God’s glory. In Isaiah, God’s act of redeeming
a group of exiles will transform the entire world. God’s desire to bless and re-create is mind boggling in its immensity and power. Thanks be to God for these texts this morning—we need some good news of joy! Just as the Judean exiles were given hope in these words of Isaiah, we too have been exiles. We are as we are able, returning from quarantine, isolation, and loneliness. We have been exiled from one another. The human family has been separated from one another. Over 100,000 people in the United States alone have died during this on-going pandemic. We have been exiled from one another, our usual schedules and way of life. I have missed you, the Messiah family. This year has certainly not turned out like any of us, myself included, ever expected. There are challenges ahead as we live into this new normal and new reality. And with God, we will step forward into the future with mindfulness and intentionality as the Word takes root and may grow something entirely different than what we expected earlier this year. We have been changed by this worldwide pandemic and we will continue to be changed by its affects. Ministries such as the Saturday Supper has expanded and grown.
Isaiah gives us a vision for the life-giving movement and effectiveness of the Word. The heart of these images is life. When the Word is doing its thing, there can be times of challenge, but also great joy. We hear this from the prophet Isaiah who quotes God in saying, “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”1Godis acting through the Word. God is active and up to something in the world, now, as God has promised to be with us always. And when God’s work is happening, and we can sense and see God’s presence, we can’t help but be in awe and joy. “For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”2These are signs of God’s promises. And our response is one of gratitude and joy, of listening, following, growing, and serving. Sharing the Word and the Good News that it is and all that it brings. That’s work that God calls us and invites us all into, as together we sense God’s Word sowing seeds and bearing fruit.

4th Sunday Pentacost June 28 2020.  First Reading ; Second Reading ; Gospel ; Message Since the beginning of chapter ten in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus has been instructing the disciples about what they are to do and the difficulties they may face. Now, in our reading this morning the focus shifts to those who will or will not welcome the disciples.  Kind acts are done because the messengers of God come in the name of the risen Christ. Today we use the word ‘saint’ when referring to people whose words and actions are exemplary of the Christian faith. There is still need to send out laborers into God’s harvest and to send missionaries into our own communities and throughout the world.  Welcoming a disciple of Jesus means receiving the very presence of Jesus himself and of the one who sent him, God the Father. Just as the body of Christ can be harmed by the way we treat one another, so the body of Christ can be built up by the way we treat one another. We never represent just ourselves, but the Christ who died and rose again for us. We, the baptized people of God, are Christ’s presence in the world. How we treat each other and all humanity is the way we are treating Christ.  We are all sent to be Christ’s presence, hands, feet to others. Sometimes this will mean rejection in the world out there; it does not mean an end to God’s mission or God’s work through us.  God’s mission is as much about us everyday saints providing a cold drink of water as the familiar names that dot the pages of church history. The practice of ordinary, everyday holy hospitality is an unusual God-filled, grace moment in our highly mobile, social distancingand impersonal society.According to Jesus, the simplegesture of hospitalityand a cup of waterhas an eternal benefit!

2nd Sunday of Pentecost, June 14 2020.  First Reading Exodus 19:2-8a; Second Reading Romans 5:1-8; Gospel Reading Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23).  In the Gospel reading this week, Jesus calls, gathers and sends his twelve disciples to liberate and enliven the ‘harassed and helpless.’ Seeing the people like sheep without a shepherd, Jesus is deeply moved.  He tells his disciples “GO.”  Go and proclaim the good news of the kingdom. Go and cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons.  Go and touch. Go and heal. God and resurrect. Go and make peace.  Go and make real the compassion of God.  Oh, but wait…there’s more!  After outlining to the disciples what they are to do, Jesus gives them some difficult operating instructions. “You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, no silver, no copper in your belts. Take no bag, or two tunics, or sandals or a staff. And to top it all off, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves so be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves. You will be dragged before governors, beaten and hated all because of me.    Where do I sign up? Right?   So as servants of God, we are to expect life to be hard/grim/uncomfortable - there is no turning back once signed up.  Once made the decision to follow Jesus, that's it - there is not warm/cold.  DO NOT DESPAIR!  The Holy Spirit is always with those who choose to follow Jesus's way, no question, simply, humbly.  This message is hard for us to hear, it confronts us, demands alot of us.  Why does Jesus ask so much of us?  Because he gave us so much, including his life, death and resurrection.  Jesus only calls us to what we were created for.  He knows that when we go out into the world in HIS NAME, we participate in the transformation of God’s creation.  We are given opportunities to go in His Name, and these opportunities will be different for each and every one of us, and when the opportunity presents itself, we will go, and with the help of God, it will be us.  Amen.
 

7th Sunday of Easter worship service May 24 2020.  First Reading Acts 1:6-14; Second Reading 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11; Gospel Reading John: 17:1-11.  Sermon message: On this last Sunday of Easter, John takes us to the meaning of eternal life, the Gospel says we were created for relationship with God.  This message is Jesus's prayer to the Father, taking place in conversation around a table, the end of the last supper, so that it leads to the Crucifixion.  He has spoken to them with boldness and urgency, and prayed, rendering his heart to them.  What does it mean for us to read and hear through scripture Jesus's prayer for us disciples today?  Author Debie Thomas writes about this reading. Jesus spends his final hours on earth by humbling himself, hoping into doubt, rushing into danger, this being the last tender memory he give them.  In this beautiful prayer, we get a clear and concise definition of eternal life.  This is not the picture of eternal life we envision, but eternal life is to know God in Christ.  To know God means to be in relationship with God - knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ, whom God has sent, beginning now in faith, coming to know the love of God who made us, the future promise through the resurrection when faith and relationship with God will be complete.  "And now I am no longer in the World, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, protect them in your name, so that they may be one, as we are one."  This prayer defines what Pentecost is to us - Jesus has gone to the Father, and we are still in the world, as disciples marked with the Cross of Christ, Jesus's works are now in our hands as we are the presence of Christ in his absence.  The promises of the resurrection are now ours to fill, Christ is made real, Christ is made known. On the night before his death, Jesus prayed and pleaded for the unity of his disciples, unified and committed to the sacred tie that binds, determined to love, reconcile, bless, and unify across all barriers, just as Christ and the Father are one, is our call, here and now.  This is how the world will know who we are, whose we are, and whose relationship we are bound together. Amen.

Sixth Sunday of Easter Worship Service First Reading Acts 17:22-31; Second Reading 1 Peter 3:13-22; Gospel John 14:15-21.  This weekend across the Synod, we are honoring high school graduates.  The Sermon given by NE UNL Campus Synod Pr. Adam White.  This wasn't the future anyone had in mind for the future.  The abundant life stuff Jesus was talking about - this promised future and all things are going so good - but then out of no where, the hour for Jesus's time to depart. Time to socially distance himself from the disciples.  You know this is hard, imagining that promised future and it just disappears, so many things planned with every reason in the world that all those plans were going to happen.  Just like the disciples, you are asking "what does this social distancing suppose to mean" just like the disciples were wondering "what does this following Jesus mean exactly?"  If today's scripture is any indication, Jesus steps into the mess.  Jesus is the one who does not leave, he is here, just like with the disciples then and now.  Even with the physical distance, the sting of absence, God's abundant life is right here in front of you, to power you to love one another.  In the future, there is life after distance, the spirit of God's love and abundant life is there, and it is here now.  All the people stepping up to help one another is ways none thought possible, people being empowered with the spirit to do better and greater things, that is God's abundant live pouring out right now.  Love one another as I have loved you - it is a way of life, a way of being.  Congratulations Graduates.  Remember the distance will not wreck God's future planned out for us for Spirit of  Love and Abundance remains. Peace of Christ be with you. Amen.

Fifth Sunday of Easter Worship Service May 10 2020.  First Reading Acts 7:55-60; Second Reading 1 Peter 2:2-10; Gospel John 14:1-14.  Message: "Do not let your Hearts be troubled.  Believe in God, Believe also in me." It is easier said then done these days.  Amongst the mix of a pandemic, isolation, loneliness, hunger, social distancing, and record breaking unemployment - add Jesus dying on the cross.  On a night when hope seems so dim, Jesus revels and counsels his disciples to believe in the resurrection, believe in God, and in Jesus, and he calls them to even greater feats.  John 14 is Jesus's farewell message, and how Jesus reassures them, he is going to his Father's house.  Jesus proclaims "I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me".  This is about Jesus going ahead to prepare a relationship with God for them, for us.  By his death and resurrection, Christ assures us there is a place for us with God, in this life and the after, for Christ has shown us the way to the Father, to the place, to the relationship with God.  We cannot control the things that worry us, daily we are reminded of our human vulnerability, but there in John 14 we find the antidote to all this grief and pain.  Following Christ, that in the face of life's cruelties, be ridiculously committed to loving one another - like the doctors and nurses and emergency responders who are caring for the sick and dying; Loving people looks like the countless food and time that was donated to Messiah last Saturday for the 600+ meals given out; Loving people includes your prayers raised up for the sake of the human family throughout the world, with faith and hope through the grief and fear - knowing that yes indeed, Christ's love from the cross and tomb will triumph.  As Christ has shown us, love will always conquer death, this is true hope. John 14 is addressed to us, in a world trying to find a way to the Father without Christ physical presents.  By Faith, we are privileged to participate now in the life of Christ in this world, believing that Christ has shown us the way to the Father.  Martin Luther wrote: In tho this world with devil's filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not yield, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us." Dear friends in Christ, do not let your Hearts be troubled.  Amen.

Fourth Sunday of Easter Worship: First Reading Acts 2:42-47; Second Reading 1 Peter 2:19-25; Gospel John 10:1-10.  Pr. Steven Peeler gave message about Psalms 23.  How fitting this psalm and gospel reading are at this time during this pandemic.  This psalms is a journey, that God's goodness and mercy is chasing after us as we travel.  This God walks with us, this God is faithful to us, This God is the Good Shepard.  There are paths of righteousness for us, and they do not go straight from the green pastures directly to the Lord,   Sometimes those paths go through the darkest valleys - in Jesus's case, the path went to the cross and the tomb and to resurrection.  As the Good Shepard, Jesus tends and guides us in relationship with each other, our community, and with God.  The good news of this psalms is that God walks with us on this path, and will guide us and see us through this.  God's goodness and mercy continues to pursue us.  God is guiding us through Saturday Suppers with social distancing and helping others, with acts of kindness be it large scale or person to person, And God's goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in the House of the Lord.  Peace be with you. Amen.

Sunday April 26 2020 Worship Service
Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
First Reading Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Second Reading 1 Peter 1:17-23; Gospel Luke 24:13-35. The message of the gospel is that this is going to be a long journey, filled with loneliness, Dispar, and isolation.  We need to remember that Christ is with us every step of the way. Like the Apostles, we are in a place between distress and belief; between dashed hopes and promises fulfilled.  Jesus walks with the Apostles, and once they name their pain, name their hear, fear, doubt; Christ picks it up from there and carries it on.  Christ walks with us to get us through tough times, to see past tough times and be known to us.  Once our eyes are opened, go and tell the story, share the love of Christ.  We are the hands of God, neighbor helping neighbor, friend helping friend, communities helping Communities in need - We need to open our eyes and see Jesus is known to us.  Once we open our eyes, we will see he has RISEN INDEED and all hope is restored.  He enables us to arise in healing and new life.  Christ is there with us, walking every step with us through our journey.  Once we open our eyes, we will see HE HAS RISEN INDEED! Amen.

Easter Sunday Service - First Reading Acts 10:34-43; Second Reading Colossian 3:1-4; Gospel Reading Matthew 28:1-10.  “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. HE is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.  Alleluia! Christ has risen indeed!  These past few weeks have felt like a preputial Good Friday filled with separation, fear, and death.  Jesus had been examined, rejected, crucified, and buried - but God did not let Jesus die. Easter is God's act of power, love, mercy, and forgives.  God's unconquered mercy and action by raising a Christ, God says yes to Jesus and no to crucifying power, yes to the healing touch, forgiveness of sinners and receiving outcasts.  the resurrection of Christ means that no ray of light, no loving dead, no act of mercy, no word of forgives is ever lost or defeated.  the resurrection promises that all our beginning and all our ending lays in the hand of God.  He is not here, for he is risen - it is the message for us now.  Matthew's Easter message that transformers the world then and continues to transformers the world now, here and now.  We will gather again, in person and in the flesh.  God, who longs to be with is in person to see us gathered as his body, will full us with abundance of life.  He is not here, he has risen.  He has risen Indeed! Amen.

Good Friday Service - First Reading Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Second Reading Hebrews 10:16-25, Gospel John 18:1-19:42,
19Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus,20by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh),21and since we have a great priestover the house of God,22let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.23Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for hewho has promised is faithful.24And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds,25not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Maundy Thursday Service - First Reading Exodus 12:1-10, Second Reading Corinthians 11:23-26, Gospel John 13:1-14, 31b-35       “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”

April 5 2020 Palm Sunday worship Service.  First Reading Isaiah 50:4-9a; Second Reading Philippians 2:5-11; Gospel Matthew 26:14-27:66, Pr. Steven Peeler presiding.  Announcement: Saturday Suppers tried their curbside to go dinners for the first time.  Thank you to all who are still donating food for this ministry.  Grace and Peace be on to you from God our Father - Amen.  Only the suffering God can help in these times when people are confined to their homes, jobs are lost, lonely, and scared.  Only a suffering God can help the pain of the world in this pandemic.  Only the suffering God can help - for at the cross, Jesus shows the world who he truly is.  How much more can the world bear? On the cross, we are meet by one who bears it all for us.  He has not left us, he will not leave us alone.  Here is the suffering God among our suffering and sorrows, whose everlasting grasps is stronger then any illness, separation, or death.  This is holy week,this is the world right now - bring on the Hosannas for the Savior of the world. Amen.

Wednesday Lenten Service Week 5 First Reading Ezekiel 34:11-16, Second Reading Romans 10:8-13; Gospel Luke 19:1-10 To Save the Lost - Luke has consistently shown how Jesus cared for those in need and for those rejected by society. In the Zacchaeus account these themes are summed up in beautiful detail. The account is unique to Luke's Gospel, just as the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the compassionate father are. Luke always portrays tax collectors favorably (3:12; 7:29; 15:1; 18:10). In return to Jesus' openness to him, Zacchaeus makes the proper response. Having accepted Jesus' initiative, Zacchaeus becomes generous with his resources, even seeking to make restitution for past wrongs. He is a rich man who gets through the eye of the needle.
 

First Reading Ezekiel 37:1-14; Second Reading Romans 8:6-11; Gospel John 11:1-45.  Service performed by Pr. Steven Peeler, Message read by Jillian Anderson: to read the entire message click link:

First Reading Exodus 17:1-7; Second Reading Romans 5:1-11; Gospel John 4:5-42. Sermon given by Pr. Steven Peeler. You can almost hear the Israelites' questions - how they mirror what is happening today.  How do we protect ourselves? How long will this last? What's going on? How appropriate This morning's reading is set in this third time of crisis by the people of Israel, as the current world is going through a COVID19 Pandemic crisis.  The questions are endless. As this journey unfolds, the story of our experiences are about a group of God's people that are "stuck" between God's promise and fulfillment.  As the wilderness is no longer simply just a place, but for Israel and for now, it is a state of mind with an uncertain future. We, like Israel, may not remember God's great acts on their behalf, but God does.  God still lays claim to them and us. The key question is in verse 7: "Is the Lord among us or not?" It was the Israelites question, it is our question. God who provides us not just water, but life in the midst of chaos the death; bread and wine as the food for our journey through through this world, and the promise that I am with you always to the end.  On this third Sunday of Lent we are reminded by this passage that God still guides us on our journey.  Just as God led Israel, so also does God set us on our way.  This text reminds us all that god is not only faithful to meet us in our essential need, but also that god is able to bear the brunt of our cries, questions, complaints, doubts without vindictiveness or wrath.  God is always present  for the community of the faithful and is binding us together as we journey through this illness that has gripped most of the world. We need to remember that God's grip of us is stronger!

Second week of Lent jWensday Service Isaiah 53:7; 

First Reading Genesis 12:1-4a; Second Reading Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; Gospel John 3:1-17.  Prayer of the day: O God, our leader and guide, in the waters of baptism you bring us to new birth as your children.  Strengthen our faith in your promises, that we may lift up your life to all the world through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.  The first reading talks of Abram and Sarah leaving their family, their land, their home to go to a new land because God asked him to.  Abram just goes - no questions, no second guesses.  Would you have been able to do this?  We are planners, and we would not just take off and leave everything without having a clear idea as to what was going to happen.  Out of all the people in the world, it is Abraham that God calls to go to restore and begin again the creation that Adam and Eve broke, so that creation may be restored to live in harmony with God once again.  The call of Abraham is God's loving and passionate response to the Dilemma created by sin and evil.  That God will work to renew and restore entire creation.  God has a destination for us, even if we cannot see it, marked with the cross forever, gifted with the Holy Spirit, born anew, with the promise of eternal life, called together to go into those Unknown places in faith, and completely on the trust in God.  God is always calling on us to be a blessing for all here on earth.  "I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know WHO holds tomorrow."  In faith and praise to God - Amen.

First Reading Genesis 3:11-15; Second Reading 1 Peter 1:17-21; Gospel John 11:45-53.  Lenten Service: To Seek and To Serve: Week 1: That One Man Should Die.  God had a plan.  A plan in place before creation - that the son of Man and son of god, will bear our sins in his own body on the cross.  That he will suffer the penalty of death in our place, and defeat the devil.  One man would die, not just for Isreal, but for All people everywhere, every time, and every place.  God promised that an offspring of Eve would come to destroy the tempting serpent.  The serpent and the Savior dealt one another crushing, bruising, deadly blows in that battle to the death on the cross, but only one of them was going to rise up again.  Amen.

First Reading Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Second Reading Roman 5:12-19; Gospel Matthew 4:1-11 read by Pr. Steven Peeler.  This is the first Sunday of Lent, and it has all the makings of a Hollywood movie.  It has Temptation and Betrayal, ending with Hope and Courage.  This text shows the faithfulness of Jesus - the testing defines what it means to be the Messiah.  It also shows the conflict between the Kingdom of God and Kingdom of this world.  The Devil tries to temp Jesus with food and power, but fails, for Jesus says "the word of God is life" and "Fear your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name".  Jesus will not take influence and power like us humans.  Why test Jesus anyway? He's the son of God, the Almighty, the Emmanuel - god with us.  Jesus knows our humanness in every sense of the word - and has been tested as we are.  Jesus is Jesus because we are not.  we face temptation everyday from within and around us.  We are constantly tempted in this world to question God's helpfulness when things go wrong, we are compromised with the ways of the world.  To be human is to realize we are created for relationship with God and each other.  the goal of a life in faith is not to escape our limitations but to see a God that meets our needs and is enough for us.  Faith gives us the courage to stand among the hardships and temptations.  Our greatest temptation every day is to forget who and who's we are - god's people, claimed by God in Christ, marked by the cross, called, gathered, feed, and sent for the sake of the world.  The same Jesus invites us to find and live hope and courage in God, so that we may discover each and every day who and who's we are.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.