Good Shepherd Sermon Podcast

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Zephaniah 3:14–17, Luke 3:7–18, Philippians 4:4-7 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Psalm 130 A song of the ascents. Out of the Depths 1 Out of the depths I have called to you, O Lord. 2 Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the sound of my cry for mercy. 3 If you, Lord, kept a record of guilt, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is pardon, so you are feared. 5 I wait for the Lord. My soul waits, and in his word I have put my hope. 6 My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. 7 Israel, wait confidently for the Lord, because with the Lord there is mercy. With him there is abundant redemption. 8 So he himself will redeem Israel from all its guilt. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Advent 3 Bible Readings 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Matthew 1:1-17 Worship Folder Pastor John Melke Sermon text: Isaiah 11:1-10 The Third Description of Immanuel: The Branch From Jesse 1 A shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 He will be delighted with the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, nor will he render decisions based on what he hears with his ears, 4 but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and he will render fair decisions in favor of the oppressed on the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath from his lips he will put the wicked to death. 5 Righteousness will be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his hips. 6 The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together, and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow and the bear will graze together, and their young ones will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the cattle. 8 The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole, and the weaned child will put his hand into a viper’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. A Remnant of Israel Will Return 10 This is what will take place on that day. The peoples will seek the Root of Jesse, who will be standing like a banner for the peoples, and his resting place will be glorious. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Second Sunday in Advent Bible Readings Malachi 3:1–7b, Psalm 66:16-20, Luke 3:1-6 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Psalm 66 For the choir director. A song. A psalm. Introduction: The Praise of the World 1 Shout praise to God, all the earth! 2 Make music to the glory of his name! Make his praise glorious! 3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!” Because of your great power your enemies must cower before you. 4 All the earth bows down to you. They make music to you. They make music to your name. Interlude God’s Awesome Deeds Deliver His People 5 Come and see the works of God. How awesome his deeds for all people! 6 He turned the sea into dry land. They crossed through the river on foot. Let us rejoice in him there. 7 He rules by his power forever. His eyes watch the nations. Interlude Do not let the rebellious rise up against him. 8 Bless our God, you peoples. Let the sound of his praise be heard. 9 He is the one who has preserved our lives. He did not let our feet slip. 10 Indeed, you tested us, God. You refined us as silver is refined. 11 You led us into a trap. You laid a burden on our backs. 12 You let men ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water, but you brought us out to a well-watered place. His People’s Praise 13 I will come to your house with whole burnt offerings. I will fulfill my vows to you, 14 which my lips uttered, which my mouth spoke during my trouble. 15 I will offer fat animals to you as whole burnt offerings, along with the smoke from rams. Interlude I will offer cattle with goats. 16 Come, listen, all you who fear God, and let me tell what he has done to save my life. 17 To him I cried out with my mouth. High praise was on my tongue. 18 If I had contemplated evil in my heart, the Lord would not have listened, 19 but God has surely listened. He has paid attention to the sound of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, who has not turned aside my prayer or turned aside his mercy from me! The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Advent 2 Bible Readings Galatians 3:7-13, Matthew 3:4-10 Worship Folder Pastor Peter Plagenz Sermon text: Genesis 3:1-15 Now the serpent was more clever than any wild animal which the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, 3 but not from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it. You shall not touch it, or else you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die. 5 In fact, God knows that the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was appealing to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She gave some also to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 The eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for their waists. 8 They heard the voice of the Lord God, who was walking around in the garden during the cooler part of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 The Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” 11 God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 The Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 The Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all the livestock, and more than every wild animal. You shall crawl on your belly, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. 15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Jeremiah 33:14-16, 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13, Luke 19:28-40 Worship Folder Pastor John Melke Sermon text: Jeremiah 33:14-16 14 Listen, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the good promises that I have spoken to the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time, I will cause a righteous Branch to grow up from David’s line. He will establish justice and righteousness on earth. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. This is what she will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Christ the King Sunday Bible Readings Daniel 7:13-14 Bible Readings Daniel 7:13-14 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Revelation 1:4b-8 John writes to the seven churches 4 I am John… I pray that God will be very kind to you. I pray that he will give you peace in your minds. God is alive now. He has always been alive. He will continue to be alive for ever. God will help you, and the seven spirits that are in front of his throne will help you. 5 Jesus Christ will also help you. He always speaks a true message. He is the first person who became alive again after death. He rules the kings of the earth. Jesus loves us and he died for us. That is how he made us free. Because of Jesus, God will not punish us for the bad things that we have done. 6 Jesus has brought us into his family, so that we belong to God’s kingdom. He has made us priests, so that we serve his God and Father. So we praise Jesus Christ! He will always be very great! He has power for all time. Amen. This is true! 7 Look! He will come on the clouds! At that time, everyone will see him! Even the people who pushed a spear into his body will see him. People from all the nations on earth will be sad when they see him. Yes, it is true! Amen! 8 The Lord God says, ‘I caused all things to begin and I will cause the end of all things. I have all power and authority. I am alive. I have always been alive. I will continue to be alive for ever.’ EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 – Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Daniel 12:1-3, John 5:25-29 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: John 5:25-29 25 “Amen, Amen, I tell you: A time is coming and is here now when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and will come out. Those who have done good will rise to live, but those who have practiced evil will rise to be condemned. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, Mark 12:38-44 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: 1 Kings 17:8-16 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Get up! Go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there. I have commanded a woman there, a widow, to provide for you.” 10 So he got up and went to Zarephath. He came to the city gate, and there he saw a widow gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Please give me a little water in a jar, so that I can have something to drink.” 11 When she went to get it, he called to her, “Please bring me a piece of bread.” 12 She said, “As surely as the Lord your God lives, I have no food except a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a pitcher. See, I am gathering a couple of sticks so that I can go and prepare it for myself and my son, so that we can eat it and then die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid. Go and do just as you said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from the flour and bring it out to me. Then go and make another for you and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. The jar of flour will not run out and the pitcher of oil will not become empty until the day the Lord sends rain to water the surface of the ground.” 15 So she went and did exactly as Elijah said. He and she, as well as her household, were able to eat for many days. 16 The jar of flour did not run out, and the pitcher of oil did not become empty, just as the Lord had said through Elijah. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

All Saints’ Sunday Bible Readings Isaiah 25:6-9, Revelation 20:4-6, John 11:32-44 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: John 11:32-44 32 When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. 34 He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” 38 Jesus was deeply moved again as he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, because it has been four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The man who had died came out with his feet and his hands bound with strips of linen and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus told them, “Loose him and let him go.” The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Reformation Sunday Bible Readings Daniel 3:16-28, Mark 13:5-11, Revelation 14:6-7 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Mark 13:5-11 5 Jesus began by telling them, “Be careful that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 “Whenever you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled. Such things must happen, but the end is not yet. 8 In fact, nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. 9 But be on your guard! People will hand you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand in the presence of rulers and kings for my sake as a witness to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11 Whenever they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand what you should say. Say whatever is given to you in that hour, because you will not be the ones speaking; instead it will be the Holy Spirit. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Isaiah 43:8-13, Acts 1:1-3, 2 Timothy 4:5-11 Worship Folder Pastor John Melke Sermon text: Luke 1:1-4, 24:44-53 1 Many have undertaken to compile an account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 an account like those handed down to us by those who were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word from the beginning. 3 For this reason, it seemed good to me also, since I followed everything closely from the beginning, to write an orderly account to you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you were taught The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-10, Acts 3:1-10, Mark 7:31-37 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Mark 7:31-37 Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Hear or Speak 31 Then Jesus left the area of Tyre and went through Sidon. He went down to the Sea of Galilee and into the area known as the Ten Cities. 32 There some people brought a man to Jesus. The man was deaf and could hardly speak. They begged Jesus to place his hand on the man. 33 Jesus took the man to one side, away from the crowd. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 Jesus looked up to heaven. With a deep sigh, he said to the man, “Ephphatha!” That means “Be opened!” 35 The man’s ears were opened. His tongue was freed up, and he began to speak clearly. 36 Jesus ordered the people not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were really amazed. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes deaf people able to hear. And he makes those who can’t speak able to talk.” New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Genesis 2:18-25, Ephesians 5:18b-6:4 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Mark 10:2-16 2 Some Pharisees came to Jesus. They wanted to find out how he would answer their question. They asked him, ‘Can a man send his wife away, so that she is no longer his wife? Is it right for him to do that?’ 3 Jesus replied with a question: ‘What did Moses say was right for you?’ 4 The Pharisees said, ‘Moses said that a man could write a letter to say that he and his wife are no longer married. Then the man can send the woman away.’ 5 Jesus said to them, ‘You did not want to obey God. That is why Moses made this rule for you. 6 But at the start, when God made the world, he made people male and female. 7 That is the reason that a man leaves his father and his mother. Then God joins him and his wife together. 8 The man and the woman become like one body. They are not two separate people any longer. They have come together as one person. 9 God has put them together to be husband and wife. So nobody should cause them to be separate.’ 10 When Jesus went into the house, the disciples asked him about these things again. 11 So Jesus said to them, ‘A man must not send his wife away and then marry another woman. If he does that, he has not been faithful to his wife. It is the same as if he had sex with another man’s wife. 12 In the same way, a woman must not leave her husband and then marry another man. She also has done a wrong thing. It is the same as if she had sex with another woman’s husband.’ Jesus prays for some children 13 People were bringing little children to Jesus. They wanted him to put his hands on each child’s head. The disciples told the people that they should not do that. 14 But when Jesus saw this, he was angry. He said to them, ‘Do not stop the children. Let them come to me. People must become like these children so that God can rule their lives. That is what the kingdom of God is like. 15 I tell you this: A person must become like a little child for God to rule in his life. If he does not become like a child, he will not come into the kingdom of God.’ 16 Then Jesus took hold of the children. He put his hands on each of them and he asked God to bless them. EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 – Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings 2 Kings 6:8-17, Revelation 12:7-12, Luke 10:17-20 Worship Folder Pastor John Melke Sermon text: Psalm 91 1 One who lives in the shelter of the Most High will stay in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.” 3 Surely He will rescue you from the fowler’s trap, from the destructive plague. 4 With His feathers He will cover you, and under His wings you will find refuge. His truth will be your shield and armor. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the plague that prowls in the darkness, nor the pestilence that destroys at noon. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only observe it with your eyes. You will see the punishment of the wicked. 9 Yes, you, Lord, are my refuge! If you make the Most High your shelter, 10 evil will not overtake you. Disaster will not come near your tent. 11 Yes, He will give a command to His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. 12 They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra. You will trample the young lion and the serpent. 14 The Lord says, Because he clings to Me, I will rescue him. I will protect him, because he acknowledges My name. 15 He will call on Me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in distress. I will deliver him and I will honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, and I will let him see My salvation. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Mark 9:30-37, James 3:13-18 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Numbers 12:1-15 Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses 1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman). 2 They said, “Has the Lord really spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” The Lord heard this. 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) 4 Right then the Lord spoke suddenly to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “You three come out to the Tent of Meeting!” The three of them came out. 5 The Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance to the tent. He called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. 6 He said, “Now listen to my words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make myself known to him in a vision. In a dream I will speak with him. 7 Not so, however, with my servant Moses. He is faithful in my whole household. 8 With him I speak face-to-face, clearly, and not in riddles. He sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?” 9 The Lord’s anger burned against them, and he left. 10 The cloud went up from above the tent, and immediately Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. Aaron turned to Miriam and saw that she was leprous. 11 Aaron said to Moses, “My lord, please do not hold this sin against us. We have acted foolishly. We have sinned. 12 Please do not let her be like a stillborn infant that comes out of its mother’s womb with its flesh half-eaten away.” 13 Moses cried out to the Lord, “God, please heal her, please!” 14 The Lord said to Moses, “If her father had merely spit in her face, would she not be disgraced for seven days? Have her confined outside of the camp for seven days, and after that she can be brought back in.” 15 Miriam was confined outside of the camp for seven days, and the people did not set out until Miriam was brought back in. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings 1 Kings 18:21-39, Mark 9:14-27, Ephesians 6:10-18 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Mark 9:21-24 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been happening to him?” “From childhood,” he said. 22 “It has often thrown him into the fire and into the water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 “If you can?” Jesus said to him. “All things are possible for the one who believes.” 24 The child’s father immediately cried out and said with tears, “I do believe. Help me with my unbelief!” The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-10, Acts 3:1-10, Mark 7:31-37 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Mark 7:31-37 Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Hear or Speak 31 Then Jesus left the area of Tyre and went through Sidon. He went down to the Sea of Galilee and into the area known as the Ten Cities. 32 There some people brought a man to Jesus. The man was deaf and could hardly speak. They begged Jesus to place his hand on the man. 33 Jesus took the man to one side, away from the crowd. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 Jesus looked up to heaven. With a deep sigh, he said to the man, “Ephphatha!” That means “Be opened!” 35 The man’s ears were opened. His tongue was freed up, and he began to speak clearly. 36 Jesus ordered the people not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were really amazed. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes deaf people able to hear. And he makes those who can’t speak able to talk.” New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Deuteronomy 4:1–2, 6-9, Romans 9:30–10:4, Mark 7:1–8, 14–15, 21–23 Worship Folder Pastor John Melke Sermon text: Mark 7:6–7, 14b–15 6 He answered them, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites. As it is written: These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 7 They worship Me in vain, teaching human rules as if they were doctrines. 8 “You abandon God’s commandment but hold to human tradition like the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.” 14 He called the crowd to Him again and said, “Everyone, listen to Me and understand. 15 There is nothing outside of a man that can make him unclean by going into him. But the things that come out of a man are what make a man unclean. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Joshua 24:1-6, 14-18, John 6: 51-69 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: John 6: 51-69 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52 At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the Last Day. 55 For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink. 56 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like your fathers ate and died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 He said these things while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60 When they heard it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching! Who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this cause you to stumble in your faith? 62 What if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 The Spirit is the one who gives life. The flesh does not help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning those who would not believe and the one who would betray him. 65 He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is given to him by my Father.” 66 After this, many of his disciples turned back and were not walking with him anymore. 67 So Jesus asked the Twelve, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Proverbs 9:1-6, John 6:35-51, 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: John 6: 35-38 35-38 Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don’t really believe me. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let go. I came down from heaven not to follow my own agenda but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me. The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Exodus 16:15-31, 1 Corinthians 10:1-5,11-13, John 6:24-35 Worship Folder Pastor John Melke Sermon text: Psalm 133 A song of the ascents. By David. Pleasant Unity 1 Look, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes. 3 It is like the dew from Hermon running down on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord commands this blessing: life to eternity. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings 2 Kings 6:8-17 Mark 6:45-56 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Mark 6:45-56 Jesus walks on water 45 Immediately after this, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Get into the boat and sail across the lake to Bethsaida.’ Jesus said that he would first send the crowd away. Then he would also leave. 46 So he said ‘goodbye’ to the crowd. Then he went up on a mountain to pray. 47 That evening, the boat with the disciples in it was in the middle of the lake. Jesus was still alone on the land. 48 But he could see his disciples. They were trying to make the boat move along. But it was very difficult for them because the wind was blowing in the opposite direction. Then, when it was nearly dawn, Jesus walked on the water towards his disciples. He seemed to be going on past them. 49 But they saw that he was walking on the water. They thought, ‘It is a spirit.’ And they screamed out. 50 They all saw him and they were very afraid. But immediately, Jesus said to them, ‘Be brave. It is I. Do not be afraid.’ 51 Then Jesus got into the boat to be with them. The strong wind stopped. The disciples were completely surprised about what had happened. 52 They did not understand what Jesus had done with the loaves of bread. They were not ready to learn. Jesus makes many sick people well 53 They sailed across the lake. They reached the shore at Gennesaret and they tied the boat there. 54 When they got out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus immediately. 55 They went to tell everyone who lived in places near there. They brought sick people to Jesus. They carried those people to him on mats. Whenever they knew where Jesus was, they brought sick people to him there. 56 Jesus went to villages, towns and farms. Everywhere that he went, they brought sick people to the market places. The sick people asked Jesus for help. They wanted to touch even the edge of his coat. Every sick person who touched him became well. EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 – Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Exodus 16:1-15, Mark 6:35-44 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Mark 6:35-44 35 When it was almost evening time, Jesus’ disciples came and said to him, ‘We are in a place where there are no houses. Soon it will be dark. 36 The people do not have anything to eat. So send them away now. Tell them to go to the farms and villages that are near here. Then they can buy some food for themselves to eat.’ 37 ‘You should give them some food to eat,’ Jesus replied. But the disciples said, ‘We cannot go to buy bread for all these people. A man must work for eight months to get the 200 coins that we would need for that. We cannot get enough food to give to these people.’ 38 Jesus asked them, ‘How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see.’ When they had looked, they told Jesus, ‘We have five loaves and two fish.’ 39 Then Jesus told all the people to sit down on the green grass. He wanted them to sit in large groups. 40 So the people sat down in groups. Each group had 50 or 100 people in it. 41 Then Jesus took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and he thanked God for the food. Then he broke the bread into pieces. He gave the pieces of bread to the disciples, and they gave the bread to the people. Jesus also broke the two fish into pieces for all the people. 42 Everyone ate and they all had enough food. They were not hungry any more. 43 Jesus’ disciples then picked up all the bits of food that people had not eaten. They filled 12 baskets with little bits of bread and fish. 44 There were 5,000 men in the crowd that ate the food there. EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 – Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Jeremiah 23:1-6, Hebrews 13:7-8,17-21, Mark 6:30-34 Worship Folder Pastor John Melke Sermon text: Jeremiah 23:1-6 1 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture! declares the Lord. 2 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who shepherd My people. You have scattered My flock. You have driven them away. You have not taken care of them, but I will certainly take care of you, because of the evil things you have done, declares the Lord. 3 I will gather what is left of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their pastures. They will be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them. They will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing, declares the Lord. 5 Listen, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, who will reign wisely as king and establish justice and righteousness on earth. 6 In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely.6 The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Amos 7:10-15 Mark 6:7-13 Titus 1:5-9 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Titus 1:5-9 5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination. 7 As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach — not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money. 8 Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Ezekiel 2:1-6 2 Timothy 2:1-10 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Mark 6:1-6 A Prophet Without Honor 6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown. His disciples followed him. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did this man learn these things? What is this wisdom that has been given to this man? How is it that miracles such as these are performed by his hands? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own house.” 5 He could not do any miracles there except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went around the villages teaching. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Lamentations 3:22-33 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Mark 5:21-24a, 35-43 When Jesus had again crossed over in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him near the sea. Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet and repeatedly pleaded with him, “My little daughter is near death. Please come and place your hands on her so that she may be healed and live.” Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following Him, pressing tightly against Him…….While He was still speaking, people from the synagogue ruler’s house arrived, saying, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher anymore?” But when Jesus heard this report, He told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.” He did not allow anyone to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. They went into the house of the synagogue ruler, and Jesus saw a commotion with people weeping and wailing loudly. When He entered, He said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” They laughed at Him. But after He put everyone out, He took the father of the child, her mother, and those who were with Him and went in where the child was. Grasping the hand of the child, He said to her, “Talitha, koum!” (When translated, that means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”) Immediately the little girl stood up and began to walk around. -She was twelve years old.- They were completely and utterly amazed. Then He gave them strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and He told them to give her something to eat. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Job 38:1-11 Acts 27:13-26 Worship Folder Pastor John Melke Sermon text: Mark 4:35-41 Jesus Calms the Storm 35 On that day, when evening came, Jesus said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” 36 After leaving the crowd behind, the disciples took him along in the boat, just as he was. Other small boats also followed him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves were splashing into the boat, so that the boat was quickly filling up. 38 Jesus himself was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to drown?” 39 Then he got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still lack faith?” 41 They were filled with awe and said to one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!” The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Ezekiel 17:22-24, Mark 4:26-34, Colossians 1:3-8 Worship Folder Pastor John Melke Sermon text: Ezekiel 17:22-24 22 This is what the Lord God says. I myself will take part of the tip of the cedar and plant it. From the topmost of its shoots I will pluck off a tender sprig, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it. It will produce branches, bear fruit, and become a magnificent cedar. Flying birds of every kind will live under it. In the shelter of its branches they will nest. 24 Then all the trees in the countryside will know that I, the Lord, bring down the high tree and raise up the low tree, that I make the green tree dry up, and I make the dried-up tree blossom. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will carry it out. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Third Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, Matthew 18:1-5 Worship Folder Pastor Dennis Valleau Sermon text: Isaiah 55:10-11 10 Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return there unless they first water the earth, make it give birth, and cause it to sprout, so that it gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 in the same way my word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty. Rather, it will accomplish whatever I please, and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Second Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Deuteronomy 5:12-15 Colossians 2:13-17 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Mark 2:23-3:6 Lord of the Sabbath 23 Once on a Sabbath day, Jesus was passing through the grain fields, and his disciples began to pick heads of grain as they walked along. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath day?” 25 He replied to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry (he and his companions)? 26 He entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the Bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for anyone to eat, except for the priests. He also gave some to his companions.” 27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is the Lord even of the Sabbath.” Jesus Heals a Man With a Withered Hand 3 Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 They were watching Jesus closely to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath day, so that they could accuse him. 3 He said to the man with the withered hand, “Step forward!” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 Then he looked around at them with anger, deeply grieved at the hardness of their hearts. He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees left and immediately began to conspire against Jesus with the Herodians, plotting how they might kill him. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

First Sunday after Pentecost— Holy Trinity Bible Readings Isaiah 6:1-8 John 3:1-17 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Romans 8:12-17 12 So then, brothers, we do not owe it to the sinful flesh to live in harmony with it. 13 For if you live in harmony with the sinful flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the actions of the body, you will live. The Spirit Assures Us We Are Children of God 14 Indeed, those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery so that you are afraid again, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom[a] we call out, “Abba, Father!” 16 The Spirit himself joins our spirit in testifying that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, we are also heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, since we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Day of Pentecost Bible Readings Ezekiel 37:1-14, John 15:26-27, 16:4B-11 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Acts 2:1-21 The Day of Pentecost 2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out. 5 Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together and they were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? 9 Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty deeds of God.” 12 And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others were jeering and saying, “They are full of sweet wine!” Peter’s Sermon 14 But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day; 16 but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, And your young men will see visions, And your old men will have dreams; 18 And even on My male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, And they will prophesy. 19 And I will display wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, fire, and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21 And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Seventh Sunday of Easter Bible Readings Ephesians 1:15-23, Ephesians 4:7-16 Worship Folder Pastor John Melke Sermon text: Revelation 1:17-18, 19:11-16, 21:1-5 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He placed his right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last— 18 the Living One. I was dead and, see, I am alive forever and ever! I also hold the keys of death and hell. The Rider on the White Horse 11 I saw heaven standing open, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and he judges and makes war in righteousness. 12 His eyes are like blazing flames, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him, which no one knows except he himself. 13 He is also clothed in a garment that had been dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies in heaven, which were clothed with white, clean, fine linen, were following him on white horses. 15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will shepherd them with an iron staff. He himself is going to trample the winepress of the fierce anger of the Almighty God. 16 On his garment and on his thigh this name is written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The New Heaven and the New Earth 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And the sea no longer existed. 2 And I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And from the throne I heard a loud voice that said, “Look! God’s dwelling is with people. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, because the former things have passed away.” 5 The one who was seated on the throne said to me, “Look, I am making everything new!” He also said, “Write, for these words are trustworthy and true.” The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Sixth Sunday of Easter Bible Readings 1 John 4:7-11,19-21, John 15:9-17 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: John 15:9-17 9 “As the Father has loved me, so also I have loved you. Remain in my love. 10 If you hold on to my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have held on to my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that my joy would continue to be in you and that your joy would be complete. 12 “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you continue to do the things I instruct you. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will endure, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 These things I am instructing you, so that you love one another. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Fifth Sunday of EasterBible Readings Acts 4:32-37, 1 John 3:18-24Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. TullbergSermon text: John 15:1-8 No Greater Love—in Good Fruit 15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he is going to cut off. And he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will bear more fruit. 3 “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I am going to remain in you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Likewise, you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him is the one who bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. Such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this: that you continue to bear much fruit and prove to be my disciples. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Fourth Sunday of EasterBible Readings John 10:11-18, Acts 20:28-32, 1 John 4:1-6Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. TullbergSermon text: John 10:11-18 11 “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired man, who is not a shepherd, does not own the sheep. He sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. 13 Because he works for money, he does not care about the sheep. 14 “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me 15 (just as the Father knows me and I know the Father). And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I also have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17 This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again. This is the commission I received from my Father.” The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Third Sunday of EasterBible Readings Luke 24:36-49, Acts 3:11-20Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. TullbergSermon text: 1 John 1:5-2:2 Walking in the Light 5 Here is the message we have heard from him and announce to you. God is light. There is no darkness in him at all. 6 Suppose we say that we share life with God but still walk in the darkness. Then we are lying. We are not living out the truth. 7 But suppose we walk in the light, just as he is in the light. Then we share life with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his Son, makes us pure from all sin. 8 Suppose we claim we are without sin. Then we are fooling ourselves. The truth is not in us. 9 But God is faithful and fair. If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar. His word is not in us. 2:1 My dear children, I’m writing this to you so that you will not sin. But suppose someone does sin. Then we have a friend who speaks to the Father for us. He is Jesus Christ, the Blameless One. 2 He gave his life to pay for our sins. But he not only paid for our sins. He also paid for the sins of the whole world. New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Second Sunday of EasterBible Readings John 20:19-31, Acts 18:1-11, 1 John 1:1-4Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. TullbergSermon text: John 20:19-31 Behind Locked Doors 19 On the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.” 22 After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Thomas Finally Believes 24 But Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 After eight days, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Take your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue to doubt, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The Purpose of John’s Gospel Account 30 Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Easter Festival ServiceBible Readings Job 19:23-27, Mark 16:1-8, 1 Corinthians 15:19-26Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. TullbergSermon text: Mark 16:1-8 The Resurrection 1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint Jesus. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 They were saying to each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb for us?” 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 He said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” 8 They went out and hurried away from the tomb, trembling and perplexed. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Holy Thursday ServiceBible Readings Exodus 12:21–30, Mark 14:12–26, 1 Corinthians 10:16–17Worship Folder Pastor John MelkeSermon text: Mark 14:22-24 The Lord’s Supper 22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread. When he had blessed it, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “Take it. This is my body.” 23 Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them. They all drank from it. 24 He said to them, “This is my blood of the new testament, which is poured out for many. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Palm SundayBible Readings Zechariah 9:9-12, Mark 11:1-10, Hebrews 12:1-32Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. TullbergSermon text: Hebrews 12:2 2 Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who is the author of our faith and the one who brings it to its goal. In view of the joy set before him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of God’s throne The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Lenten ServiceBible Readings Romans 6:1-14Worship Folder Pastor John MelkeSermon text: Romans 6:1-14 Dead to Sin and Living for God 6 What shall we say then? Shall we keep on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 Absolutely not! We died to sin. How can we go on living in it any longer? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him, to make our sinful body powerless, so that we would not continue to serve sin. 7 For the person who has died has been declared free from sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he will never die again. Death no longer has control over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once and for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way also consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Serve God, Not Sin, in Your Life 12 Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires. 13 Do not offer the members of your body to sin as tools of unrighteousness. Instead, offer yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and offer the members of your body to God as tools of righteousness. 14 Indeed, sin will not continue to control you, because you are not under law but under grace. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Fifth Sunday in LentBible Readings Isaiah 43:1-7, John 12:20-33Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. TullbergSermon text: Hebrews 5:7-9 7 In the days of his flesh, he offered prayers and pleas with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was the Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. 9 After he was brought to his goal, he became the source of eternal salvation for everyone who obeys him, The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Lenten ServiceBible Readings Matthew 28:18-20Worship Folder Pastor Dennis ValleauSermon text: Matthew 28:18-20 18 Jesus approached and spoke to them saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you. And surely I am with you always until the end of the age.” The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Fourth Sunday in LentBible Readings Numbers 21:4-9, John 3:14-21, Ephesians 2:1-10Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. TullbergSermon text: John 3:14-21 14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 The one who believes in him is not condemned, but the one who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. 19 This is the basis for the judgment: The light has come into the world, yet people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. 20 In fact, everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, or else his deeds would be exposed. 21 But the one who does what is true comes toward the light, in order that his deeds may be seen as having been done in connection with God.” The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Lenten ServiceBible Readings John 3:1-8Worship Folder Pastor Lucas ProeberSermon text: John 3:1-8 Jesus Teaches Nicodemus 3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these miraculous signs you are doing unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus replied, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God! 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh. Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be surprised when I tell you that you must be born from above. 8 The wind blows where it pleases. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Third Sunday in LentBible Readings Psalm 69, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, John 2:13-22Worship Folder Pastor John MelkeSermon text: (Sermon Text) Jesus Clears Out the Temple 13 The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers sitting at tables. 15 He made a whip of cords and drove everyone out of the temple courts, along with the sheep and oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those selling doves he said, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a place of business!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 So the Jews responded, “What sign are you going to show us to prove you can do these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” 20 The Jews said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple! And you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When Jesus was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and what Jesus had said. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Lenten ServiceBible Readings Mark 14:27-42, Titus 3:4-7Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. TullbergSermon text: Titus 3:4-7 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, 5 he saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs in keeping with the hope of eternal life. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Second Sunday in LentBible Readings Psalm 73, Mark 8:31-38Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. TullbergSermon text: Romans 5:7-11 7 No one is willing to die for another person, but for a good man someone might be willing to die. 8 But God showed His love to us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Now that we have been saved from the punishment of sin by the blood of Christ, He will save us from God’s anger also. 10 We hated God. But we were saved from the punishment of sin by the death of Christ. He has brought us back to God and we will be saved by His life. 11 Not only that, we give thanks to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have been brought back to God. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today’s message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!