Life is filled with so many ups and downs, twists and turns.  Delightful surprised and distressing disappointments.  But through it all one thing is true—our God is Faithful.  Today we will lean into God’s faithfulness and claim the hope and promise that comes from it.

We often think the Bible talks about “spiritual” matters—God and worship and prayer. And of course it does. But do we often recognize the practical guidance and direction that God gives to us in His word. Over the next four weeks we will look at the wise and profound guidance that God gives to us regarding something we deal with every day—money. This isn’t a series about generosity, but about scriptural guidance on how to practically manage our resources—to receive the blessings and avoid the dangers. Let’s open ourselves to the wisdom of scripture, to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

This series will be based on the talks and book by Jamie Winship. He is a Christian man who spent in law enforcement and overseas working in some of the greatest conflict situations in the world. He took Jesus powerful and simple promises and lived them out in powerful ways interacting with others in ways that was transformative. We will unpack the scriptural truths he points people to in his book and talks.

For 3 weeks we will take a serious look at a playful idea—what spiritual truths might surface as we look at texting abbreviations. We have chosen three abbreviations, that point us to scriptures and invite us to reflect on practical spiritual realities in our lives. Join us for a deeper conversation about the texting shortcuts that fill our phones. God is everywhere if we have eyes to see!  

Summer is a season where we see growth all around us—trees in blossom, flowers spreading, gardens growing and producing. Everything is in growth and maturing. So why not us?! In our summer series we will investigate different parts of the Bible that point us to how God wants to help us mature—what are the steps, what are the processes. Fertilizing here, weeding there, continuous watering. We will do this in 3 “chapters”: first an overview entitled “Maturing Spiritually”, and then a focus on “Letting Go” and finally a chapter on “Facing Challenges.” As we watch the natural word bear fruit and mature around us, may the Holy Spirit do a maturing work within us this summer.

The events of Christ’s Passion, which take place during the last week of Jesus’ life, often don’t receive enough time in our worship and study. These stories are central to our faith journey and our identity as followers of Jesus. And yet we often move too quickly from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday with little time to take in the dramatic story of that last week. Throughout the six weeks of Lent we will “freeze-frame” moments in Holy Week so we might put ourselves in the picture, thereby “Entering the Passion of Jesus.” How might taking a closer look at these crucial moments in Jesus life open us to deeper conviction for our role in its ongoing message?

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reminds us that our inheritance with the communion of saints is greater than death. Paul knew anxiety, and he knew the messiness of being in community.  Paul reminds us that we are subjected to and protected by powers greater than princes, principalities, and even death: the love of Christ Jesus. He writes that Christ has power over “every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.” We are unified in Christ’s love through his resurrection. We may mourn those we see no more, but we also remain connected to them in his triumph over death.

"Everyone has sinned..., yet God in his grace freely makes us right in his sight." These are the two powerful poles of God's truth in scripture--there is sin and there is grace. Too often as people we lose sight of one side of this or another. We overlook our sin...or we are overwhelmed by it. Either of those is not what we need. Being honest about ourselves allows us to be amazed at a God of grace. So let's take a few moments to be really honest, so we can end up truly amazed again at our grace filled Savior.

We often live our lives chasing after so many things, overscheduling our time so as not to miss out on anything, and creating expectations for ourselves and others that aren’t sustainable. But what if instead of chasing our lives, we truly centered our lives? What if we found a rhythm, a center, a focus that allowed ourselves and others to find wholeness? Jesus invites us into such a life and in this series we will unpack His teachings and practice a rhythm that makes sense of who we are and Whose we are. Together let’s find little ways to step away from “busy” and find a real connection with our unhurried God.

As we launch into this fall, this three week worship series will encourage us to open ourselves more fully to the curiosity and wonder, reflection and transformation that travelers experience when they choose to immerse themselves in soul-widening adventures.

We always talk about questions we would like to ask God. Questions that we have wondered about, questions that have perplexed us. But have we ever paused to think about questions that God might ask us? Throughout the Bible, God asks individuals questions, questions that have forced them to look at something in their life differently, questions that have forced them to look at the world differently. So this summer we will take a tour of some of the questions that God asked people in the Bible, because they are also probably questions God has asked us or wants to ask us right now. So let’s be open to the questions that God is asking us today.

SERMON NOTES from: Who Do You Say I AM (August 6, 2023)

In this series we will dig into God’s equipping of us and Jesus amazing call to serve others. This is at the heart of who we are as Christians and at the heart of who we are at LOC. It is such a fundamental part of our mission that we say it in our statement —"Light of Christ exists…so that we might faithfully and joyfully serve Him.” People who are living out Jesus call to serve will be affirmed and those that haven’t yet found their calling will be given the tools to discover theirs. So that together we can live out Jesus mission for each of us.

Jesus entered into Jerusalem and it looked like his ultimate triumph.  A parade of triumph, entering as a humble king.  Palm branches, people shouting.  A beautiful, exciting day.  At least that is how it looks and feels if you stop the reading at vs 11.  But if you go on, you realize that Jesus isn’t just coming to be a sweet, kind king, but is coming to challenge the status quo, coming to uproot injustice and call believers back to a whole-hearted spirituality.  It was triumph…but it was also turmoil.  Jesus again shows that he doesn’t fit in any of our easy molds, but he comes for who He is, the Son of God coming to set the world right.  He does it with his words, with his actions, and eventually with his life.  Can we welcome the fullness of Jesus—his triumph and his turmoil--into our lives?

"This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you."

-2 Tim 1:6  

The New Testament is filled with words that encouraged people to continue to live into the calling that God had for their lives.  The writers realize that it is not just learning new material, but being reminded to live into what we have already received and heard and know that is real and true.  As we move into this series and reflect on the God’s vision to Ignite growth, engagement and our future, it isn’t something new that we need to hear, but to remember, to fan the flames, to rekindle our vision and our focus. Just as Paul did through the book of Acts as he visited tiny mission church after mission church, he would “encourage the believers” to stay strong.  May the Holy Spirit use this series to do that same encouraging work among us.

The Lord is my Shepherd: In this Psalm, David paints this beautiful, intimate personal picture of who God is to Him…and who God wants to be for all of us. In many ways this psalm is Yahweh’s resume—these verses lay out God’s way of acting and being in our world toward us. In this verse, we meet God as our Shepherd, Jesus as our Good Shepherd. And this isn’t just for the world out there, it is for me right here. That is what David claimed, and that is what he invites us to experience and know.  Can you feel and know and see your Shepherds kind, consistent, attentive care? We understand that the very presence of Christ is in us and dwells in our hearts through faith, we become rooted in God's love and have strength to love others and do things that what otherwise seem impossible. When we allow Jesus to truly Lord over our lives the Spirit of God within us draws us out of ourselves and our comfort zones and often into service for others, opening our eyes to truly see and love others in profound ways.

When we understand that the very presence of Christ is in us and dwells in our hearts through faith, we become rooted in God's love and have strength to love others and do things that what otherwise seem impossible. When we allow Jesus to truly Lord over our lives the Spirit of God within us draws us out of ourselves and our comfort zones and often into service for others, opening our eyes to truly see and love others in profound ways.

E3 is an annual adult spiritual renewal retreat that has take place for over 20 years at Light of Christ. This weekend, the E3 volunteer leadership team will lead us in worship, step into serve, and the Director of Adult Ministries, Bonnie Kautz-Prasse, will give a message entitled, "Kingdom". E3 takes place annually in February. Come see a glimpse of the impact that this ministry has had over the years as we worship together!

Christmas is a day filled with both joy and many stressors. As we frantically run around placing more things to do and places to be on our plates we often forget the greatest gift given to the world within our Christmas story; a new life in Christ. Christ and the very presence of God have been a part of God’s story since the beginning of creation. Christ is the light of the world that allows us to discover and see that everything is beloved and sacred, that nothing is apart from God and everything belongs! The light of Christ is in everything and everyone. First discovered in creation, then in the life Jesus, so we could see, hear, watch, and touch, the word become flesh, who is life. Now, the very presence and light of Christ lives and moves through us, we are to be Christ’s body and light in the world. Just like Mary, God is calling us to birth the presence of Christ’s light out into the world, together as the Church.

The culture puts many demands on us this time of year, wanting us to complicate our lives by doing more, buying more, eating more, etc. Focusing on simplicity, especially a profoundly spiritual interior simplicity, is indeed counter-cultural. This makes it a perfect focus for Advent because the session of Advent itself is counter-cultural. So let us embrace whole-heartedly the season of Advent, along with these reflections, as the support we need to practice simplicity in a way that will help prepare us for the true meaning of Christmas.

As we read articles and listen to counselors, it is clear that we have an epidemic of anxiety in our world.  Adults are anxious. Youth are anxious. Kids are anxious. All of the disruption in our world in the past few years has left us unsettled and uncertain. Whether it is our politics or our environment, our schools or our social media feeds, there is a battle with anxiety that we are facing. But God knows this. Jesus has addresses this. Anxiety is not new, it is an ancient foe that humans have fought with through the centuries. So let us listen and learn from the One who has won this battle and can show us how.

In this series we will be reflecting on how God puts us together in community to care for one another.  Jesus assembled disciples and modelled it.  Paul encouraged and taught it.  It is crucial to remember and remind ourselves how simple and essential care is within a community of believers.  And we will remind people in this series how we do it here, lifting up our Care Principles and reminding them of the practical tools available to us.

The battlefield is often in our minds. Our thoughts are powerful, and they often dictate our actions which changes our lives, for the good or bad. We will be discussing the power our thoughts have over our lives and what God says about guarding them, keeping them fixed, and allowing them to be transformed.

Join us as Christopher Mitchell, a regularly visiting Guest Pastor at Light of Christ, takes us through the story of Lazarus from a unique and thought-provoking perspective.

Kim Carrera, Ryan Holmer, and Lindsey Gertz will speak about their experiences on the Youth Mission Trip in June to Nashville, Tennessee.

In the Old Testament, when Moses heard God’s voice from the burning bush, Moses asked, “What should I call you?”  And God responded, “I am who I am”.  In the New Testament, Jesus claimed that powerful phrase “I am…” to convey that He was indeed from God and of God.  Jesus combined that “I am” phrase with powerful metaphors to convey his work and calling in this world.  Over the next two weeks we will reflect on how who Jesus is as we hear him call say, “I am the gate…I am the Good Shepherd…I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life."