Wednesday, December 31, 2014

"In the beginning was the Word ..."   ~ John 1:1  
January 4,2015

Creation is an ongoing act of God.  Unleashed in the beginning, the creating power of God continues to bring forth new form and meaning in all the world, in all life; all the while, continuing to reveal the goodness of God.  In scope it's as vast as the accelerating expansion of the universe, and as intimate as the growth in grace and wisdom we experience in daily living.  John's Gospel reveals the incarnation of Christ as a new genesis in the ongoing creating work of God.  The wisdom of God is celebrated as unconquerable light shining in the darkness and as the One who comes to continue that work of revelation and creation in the lives of all who will follow.  In Christ, we too are a new creation.  The old is gone; the new has come.

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Sunday, December 28, 2014

"Let Us Sing"
The first Sunday of Christmas

 First Reading: Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Second Reading: Galatians 4:4-7
Gospel: Luke 2:22 - 40

Pastor Lynnae tells us about Simeon's song

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Wednesday, December 24, 2014

"Christ is Born"



May God bless you with hope, peace, joy and love this Christmas Season and in the coming year!

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Sunday, December 21, 2014

LOVE
"A New Light is Shining"


It all comes down to this.  Love one another, Jesus says.  “As I have loved you, so you should love one another.”   Jesus says it is by our love alone that world will know we are his followers, his disciples.  He says that his single, new commandment – that we love one another – sums up all the law and the prophets, all the wisdom and teaching of God.  Scripture challenges us that “one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:7)  When we love, we dwell in the very nature of God.  Love is the Gospel in a single word.  And the One God sends is coming into the world to enflesh that word for all to see.

 O Come All Ye Faithful, gather around the advent wreath. Light the candles one by one and remember. Remember that so long ago God came to live among us and comes again each and every day. What better way to enter our lives than as a tiny, helpless yet cherished symbol of hope - an infant child. What joy we find in the expectant lives of Mary and Elizabeth who knew the miracle of life within themselves. What peace we find in the promise of salvation to the desperate and frightened. Love came to change the world and continues to enlighten our lives. We join together each Sunday in worship to remember the story that offers us hope, joy, peace and love.

 PRAYER OF THE DAY  

Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come.  Free us from the sin that would obstruct your mercy, that willingly we may bear your redeeming love to all the world, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, on God, now and forever.  Amen.

READINGS
FIRST READING: 2 Samuel 7:1–11, 16
RESPONSIVE READING: Luke 1:46b–55
SECOND READING: Romans 16:25–27
GOSPEL: Luke 1:26–38

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Sunday, December 14, 2014

"Lead Me Back to Bethlehem"

Words and Music by Pepper Choplin copywrite 2011 Lorenze Publishing Co.  Use with permission.

 Sung by Abiding Love Choir.

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Sunday, December 7, 2014

PEACE
"A New Light is Shining"

O Come All Ye Faithful, gather around the advent wreath. Light the candles one by one and remember. Remember that so long ago God came to live among us and comes again each and every day. What better way to enter our lives than as a tiny, helpless yet cherished symbol of hope - an infant child. What joy we find in the expectant lives of Mary and Elizabeth who knew the miracle of life within themselves. What peace we find in the promise of salvation to the desperate and frightened. Love came to change the world and continues to enlighten our lives. We join together each Sunday in worship to remember the story that offers us hope, joy, peace and love.

December 14 - Joy
December 21 - Love

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Sunday, November 30, 2014

HOPE
"A New Light is Shining"

O Come All Ye Faithful, gather around the advent wreath. Light the candles one by one and remember. Remember that so long ago God came to live among us and comes again each and every day. What better way to enter our lives than as a tiny, helpless yet cherished symbol of hope - an infant child. What joy we find in the expectant lives of Mary and Elizabeth who knew the miracle of life within themselves. What peace we find in the promise of salvation to the desperate and frightened. Love came to change the world and continues to enlighten our lives. We join together each Sunday in worship to remember the story that offers us hope, joy, peace and love.

November 30 - Hope
December 7 - Peace
December 14 - Joy
December 21 - Love

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Sunday, November 23, 2014



"Christ the King"
Here on the cusp of a new year in the life of the church we once again proclaim “Christ the King.” Yet we’re are challenged to understand this vast disparity between common notions of “kings” and what we see in Jesus. This is a different kind of king. And he calls all of those who would enter into his kingdom to a different kind of loyalty and obedience. He says things like, “the one who would be ruler of all must become the servant of all.” The one who would “rule over all the kings of the earth,” clothes himself like a household slave and washes feet. And he calls us to do likewise. He challenges everyone who is chasing after divine proofs and evidence as a basis for faith to seek him in the faces of the hungry, the suffering, the stranger and the prisoner. Taunts of kingship will be shouted at his mock trial, and will hang in ridicule above his head on the cross. And yet, this is the one God sends to redeem the world, to make all things new; the one whose “kingdom shall have no end.” Today we embrace the true kingship of God’s Christ, and the kingdom he is calling forth in the world.


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Sunday, November 16, 2014


"Saved for Works" 
"Always New"

In 2017 the Lutheran Church world-wide will celebrate its 500th anniversary. Martin Luther began a movement that continues yet today for a church that is not reforming and renewing is - dying. What in our history drives us to our future? What is a "Lutheran" really? What do we celebrate? How are we "always being made new"?

November 23 - Christ the King

Join us for worship Sunday morning - 8:30 & 11:00 am.
Education Hour for all ages at 9:45 am.

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Sunday, November 9, 2014


"Saved by ..."

In 2017 the Lutheran Church world-wide will celebrate its 500th anniversary. Martin Luther began a movement that continues yet today for a church that is not reforming and renewing is - dying. What in our history drives us to our future? What is a "Lutheran" really? What do we celebrate? How are we "always being made new"?

November 16 - Saved for Good Fruits
November 23 - Christ the King

Join us for worship Sunday morning - 8:30 & 11:00 am.
Education Hour for all ages at 9:45 am.



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Sunday, November 2, 2014

"A Cloud of Witnesses"

 "Festival of All Saints!" 

All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, is a day of remembrance.  Historically in the church it was a time to celebrate the lives of saints of the faith who had gone to glory.  Their spiritual presence among the living at this annual festival has given rise to all kinds of folk traditions and customs.  But Scripture is quite clear in naming all the vast host of believers – especially those living today – as the “saints.”  Paul says it is the “great cloud of witnesses” that are the “holy ones,” the saints of God.  So our celebration is expanded with remembrance of those who have gone before us, those of the living Body of Christ today, and the generations to come, as well.  Today we remember, we hallow, and we give thanks for this cloud of witnesses of which we are a vital part.

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Sunday, October 26, 2014

“Always Being Made New.” 


“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.”  In a moment of ecstasy, John of Patmos has a vision of a new creation … the world shining forth in a new glory.  And he hears a voice from the throne of heaven saying, “See, I make all things new!”  In the wonderful imagery of Revelation, we hear the resounding truth that creation is an ongoing act of God.  All things, all life, the natural world and everything in it are continually in flux, continually being newly made.  As we celebrate the Reformation, we remember pivotal events and new directions in the unfolding history of the church.  But more so, we celebrate the truth that God reveals – semper reformanda ! – that the church, the people of God, indeed all creation is continually reforming, always being made new.  In this light we look to the future with great hope and expectation, with a sense of confidence and boldness, that God is in the midst of the world, at work for the good in all things.

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Sunday, October 19, 2014

"Loving Your Neighbors"



The calling to love God with the whole of our being is the foundation of Biblical tradition and practice.  It is as central to Jesus' ministry as it has been to the faith of all his Israelite forbearers.  Jesus teaches this love in a variety of different contexts in the Gospels as "the greatest commandment" and as "the key to inheriting eternal life."  In Jesus' spiritual heritage, it is the morning prayer of the Israelites: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.  You shall love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength."(Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

It is a calling upon our lives today, just as it was upon the lives of believers in Jesus' time.  When he teaches on this truth, Jesus always connects it with loving others ... "love your neighbor as yourself." For him, the two are inextricably linked:  we love God best when we love others as we would be loved ourselves.

In this Pentecost season we will be exploring our calling to love God in all that we say and do - with all that we are - and to manifest this love in our relationships with others.

 To help with the Ebola crisis click elca.org
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Sunday, October 12, 2014

"Loving Yourself"



The calling to love God with the whole of our being is the foundation of Biblical tradition and practice.  It is as central to Jesus' ministry as it has been to the faith of all his Israelite forbearers.  Jesus teaches this love in a variety of different contexts in the Gospels as "the greatest commandment" and as "the key to inheriting eternal life."  In Jesus' spiritual heritage, it is the morning prayer of the Israelites: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.  You shall love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength."(Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

It is a calling upon our lives today, just as it was upon the lives of believers in Jesus' time.  When he teaches on this truth, Jesus always connects it with loving others ... "love your neighbor as yourself." For him, the two are inextricably linked:  we love God best when we love others as we would be loved ourselves.

In this Pentecost season we will be exploring our calling to love God in all that we say and do - with all that we are - and to manifest this love in our relationships with others.

October 19 - Loving Your Neighbors
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Sunday, October 5, 2014

"Loving God with all your Strength"




When Jesus calls us to love, it is with our whole being. That includes not only our spiritual, mental and emotional capacities, but also our sheer strength and physicality. Our strength – the gifts and abilities, the physical power we wield – is a vital part of this whole response.  In addition to the wisdom and creativity and passion for God’s calling, there is the embodying, the “enfleshing” of that calling. Strength addresses the “doing” of what God is about. But strength is more than just muscle and sinew;it is conviction, character and commitment to justice, as well. Sometimes it is defending the poor and the powerless. Sometimes it is patient endurance.  Today we engage strength in all its forms, as it is manifest in us, and as it flows into us from God.

 The calling to love God with the whole of our being is the foundation of Biblical tradition and practice.  It is as central to Jesus' ministry as it has been to the faith of all his Israelite forbearers.  Jesus teaches this love in a variety of different contexts in the Gospels as "the greatest commandment" and as "the key to inheriting eternal life."  In Jesus' spiritual heritage, it is the morning prayer of the Israelites: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.  You shall love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength."(Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

It is a calling upon our lives today, just as it was upon the lives of believers in Jesus' time.  When he teaches on this truth, Jesus always connects it with loving others ... "love your neighbor as yourself." For him, the two are inextricably linked:  we love God best when we love others as we would be loved ourselves.

In this Pentecost season we will be exploring our calling to love God in all that we say and do - with all that we are - and to manifest this love in our relationships with others.

October 12 - Loving Yourself
October 19 - Loving Your Neighbors
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Sunday, September 28, 2014

"Loving God with all your Mind"



The calling to love God with the whole of our being is the foundation of Biblical tradition and practice.  It is as central to Jesus' ministry as it has been to the faith of all his Israelite forbearers.  Jesus teaches this love in a variety of different contexts in the Gospels as "the greatest commandment" and as "the key to inheriting eternal life."  In Jesus' spiritual heritage, it is the morning prayer of the Israelites: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.  You shall love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength."(Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

It is a calling upon our lives today, just as it was upon the lives of believers in Jesus' time.  When he teaches on this truth, Jesus always connects it with loving others ... "love your neighbor as yourself." For him, the two are inextricably linked:  we love God best when we love others as we would be loved ourselves.

In this Pentecost season we will be exploring our calling to love God in all that we say and do - with all that we are - and to manifest this love in our relationships with others.

October 5 - Loving God with all your Strength
October 12 - Loving Yourself
October 19 - Loving Your Neighbors

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Sunday, September 21, 2014

"Loving God with all your Soul"



When Jesus is challenged to name what is most important in life, he says it is to love God by loving others as we ourselves are loved.  And he says, as Moses did before him, that this love is to be all-encompassing:  to love with heart, soul, mind and strength – the whole of our being.  As we explore how that touches ground in our lives, we contemplate what it means, not only to love as a soul, but in truth to BE a soul!  Today we engage the reality of our whole, true selves and how God is calling forth the very essence of us as a gift of love to the world.
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. 
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
The calling to love God with the whole of our being is the foundation of Biblical tradition and practice.  It is as central to Jesus' ministry as it has been to the faith of all his Israelite forbearers.  Jesus teaches this love in a variety of different contexts in the Gospels as "the greatest commandment" and as "the key to inheriting eternal life."  In Jesus' spiritual heritage, it is the morning prayer of the Israelites: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.  You shall love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength."(Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

It is a calling upon our lives today, just as it was upon the lives of believers in Jesus' time.  When he teaches on this truth, Jesus always connects it with loving others ... "love your neighbor as yourself." For him, the two are inextricably linked:  we love God best when we love others as we would be loved ourselves.

In this Pentecost season we will be exploring our calling to love God in all that we say and do - with all that we are - and to manifest this love in our relationships with others.

September 28 - Loving God with all your Mind
October 5 - Loving God with all your Strength
October 12 - Loving Yourself
October 19 - Loving Your Neighbors
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Sunday, September 14, 2014

"Loving the Lord your God with all your Heart"


The calling to love God with the whole of our being is the foundation of Biblical tradition and practice.  It is as central to Jesus' ministry as it has been to the faith of all his Israelite forbearers.  Jesus teaches this love in a variety of different contexts in the Gospels as "the greatest commandment" and as "the key to inheriting eternal life."  In Jesus' spiritual heritage, it is the morning prayer of the Israelites: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.  You shall love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength."(Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

It is a calling upon our lives today, just as it was upon the lives of believers in Jesus' time.  When he teaches on this truth, Jesus always connects it with loving others ... "love your neighbor as yourself." For him, the two are inextricably linked:  we love God best when we love others as we would be loved ourselves.

In this Pentecost season we will be exploring our calling to love God in all that we say and do - with all that we are - and to manifest this love in our relationships with others.

September 21 - Loving God with all your Soul
September 28 - Loving God with all your Mind
October 5 - Loving God with all your Strength
October 12 - Loving Yourself
October 19 - Loving Your Neighbors
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Sunday, September 7, 2014

"Loving God"

Pastor Brad Highum talks to us about how to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength."




The calling to love God with the whole of our being is the foundation of Biblical tradition and practice.  It is as central to Jesus' ministry as it has been to the faith of all his Israelite forbearers.  Jesus teaches this love in a variety of different contexts in the Gospels as "the greatest commandment" and as "the key to inheriting eternal life."  In Jesus' spiritual heritage, it is the morning prayer of the Israelites: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.  You shall love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength."(Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

It is a calling upon our lives today, just as it was upon the lives of believers in Jesus' time.  When he teaches on this truth, Jesus always connects it with loving others ... "love your neighbor as yourself." For him, the two are inextricably linked:  we love God best when we love others as we would be loved ourselves.

In this Pentecost season we will be exploring our calling to love God in all that we say and do - with all that we are - and to manifest this love in our relationships with others.

September 7 - Loving God with all your Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength
September 14 - Loving God with all your Heart
September 21 - Loving God with all your Soul
September 28 - Loving God with all your Mind
October 5 - Loving God with all your Strength
October 12 - Loving Yourself
October 19 - Loving Your Neighbors
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Sunday, August 31, 2014

"Love + Life" "Sweet and Salty"
by Pastor Lynnae Sorensen
How do you understand the Cross?
We explore the sweet and the salt of the cross.

Last week Simon Peter and the disciples finally seemed to understand who Jesus really was, but this week their ideas are dashed as Jesus firmly corrects Peter's ideas of the way to salvation. They would not be saved by a military intervention, political coup or divine mediation. Instead, Jesus love, suffering and compassion would mark the transformation of the world. Sometimes, we will be corrected and sometimes we will be disappointed in the ways of God. Today we will take a look at how much trust has to do with suffering and with our eventual salvation.


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Sunday, August 24, 2014

"I Believe"
a sermon by Pastor Lynnae Sorensen




AFFIRMATION OF FAITH—MASAI CREED
                      

We believe in the one High God, who out of love created the beautiful world and everything good in it. He created Man and wanted Man to be happy in the world. God loves the world and every nation and tribe on the Earth. We have known this High God in darkness, and now we know Him in the light. God promised in the book of His word, the Bible, that He would save the world and all the nations and tribes.
We believe that God made good His promise by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, a Jew by tribe, born poor in a little village, who left His home and was always on safari doing good, curing people by the power of God, teaching about God and man, showing the meaning of religion is love.
He was rejected by his people, tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died. He lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, He rose from the grave. He ascended to the skies. He is the Lord.
We believe that all our sins are forgiven through Him. All who have faith in Him must be sorry for their sins, be baptized in the Holy Spirit of God, live the rules of love and share the bread together in love, to announce the Good News to others until Jesus comes again. We are waiting for Him. He is alive. He lives. This we believe. Amen.
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Sunday, August 17, 2014

Lord Help Me! He said what?
When Jesus is confronted by a Canaanite woman begging for his help – someone from outside “the tribe” – he responds to her with one of the ugliest racial epithets of his time.   He says the gifts of God are not to be thrown to “the dogs.”   How could Jesus – of all people – say such a thing!  But what’s even more amazing is that this woman doesn’t back up a step!  “Even dogs deserve crumbs from the master’s table.”  We begin to realize that something profound is happening here, something new and expansive about God and humanity is being revealed.  We are invited to delve into the nuance and subtleties beneath the obvious repugnance of Jesus’ statement.  And how, in the face of the woman’s rock solid faith, something new is awakened, and God’s miracle power begins to flow.
 
Pastor Brad preaches
"Lord help me! - He said WHAT?"
GOSPEL: Matthew 15:21–28

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Sunday, August 10, 2014

Stilling the Storm …

In the beginning, God’s Spirit hovers over the primal waters of creation.  Those who would follow Jesus experience the trials and challenges of discipleship as though adrift on a stormy sea.  Throughout history, dark and deep, raging waters have been an archetypal symbol of chaos; one we find reflected in the turbulence of our time.  But by God’s grace, the One God sends to proclaim new life proclaims God’s power over turmoil and chaos.  As God’s prophet, Elijah experiences the gale and the torrent, earthquake and fire.  But it is in the stillness that follows that God speaks a truth for the ages.
 
Pastor Brad Highum preaches

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Monday, August 4, 2014

"The feeding of the thousands"
 click here to listen to the whole service 

Senior Pastor Lynnae Sorensen preaches
Please only use the right channel until I can fix the audio, it seems the children's sermon and Sermon have different audio in the left channel.  
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Sunday, July 27, 2014

GOD AT WORK
"For the good, in all things..."
 click here to listen to the whole Service

prayer of the day
Creating God, your Word fills us with hope and expectation as all creation proclaims your Kingdom … at hand, among us, within us.  Teach us to walk in your way, to live into your Kingdom vision.  Reveal to us where you are working.  Inspire us and equip us to join in your creative work of healing and renewing the world and bringing justice to people everywhere.    Amen.

 Pastor Brad Highum
(Right Click and save any of the following links)






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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

We would like to focus on 
"A time and a place for all things"
 working with what is at hand, living in the present; letting God’s priorities establish our priorities, letting what is right in front of us be enough for today.

 Pastor Brad Highum


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