![[Sunday] Backwards Beautiful - Kingdom Way - Matthew 28](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1745552165848-WAAACA58WKWYMWY08VZZ/KW+25a.jpg)
[Sunday] Backwards Beautiful - Kingdom Way - Matthew 28
A call to make disciples, rooted in Jesus's enduring love, empowers even the doubting to share a love that defines the very heart of the church. Matthew Chapter 28
A call to make disciples, rooted in Jesus's enduring love, empowers even the doubting to share a love that defines the very heart of the church.
Questions for the Week: Kingdom Way: Backwards Beautiful
Read Matthew 28:16-20. Making disciples is really about loving people. Can you think of a time this week when you showed love to someone? What happened? How did it feel?
We all doubt ourselves sometimes,just like Joseph and even the disciples. When have you felt unsure about whether you were the right person for something? How did things turn out? What does it mean to know that God can work even in our doubts?
In what ways does the church today prioritize principles over people, and what are the consequences?
Jesus' final promise was "I am with you always." When have you felt God's presence with you, even in a small way? How does knowing that God is always with us encourage us to go and love others, even when you might doubt?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Home Easter - Kingdom Way - Matthew 28](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1744896317374-8FNA1Q6P0B6FQ7JRW7GP/KW+24a.jpg)
![Wednesday Dinners in Lent [Photos]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1745009042121-G1RKXTW8R4RWWIF1IC6Q/IMG_1613.jpeg)
![Palm Saturday Clean Up! [Photos]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1745008852930-99DGNJOCE7FKO558BBFR/PXL_20250412_130101515.jpg)
Remembering Joe Gannon
Remembering our Dear Friend and Husband, Joe
Service Live Stream is at 11am
[Sunday] Home Easter - Kingdom Way - Matthew 28
Beyond the tomb's despair, its emptiness unveils the way cleared for our return home. Matthew Chapter 28
Beyond the tomb's despair, its emptiness unveils the way cleared for our return home.
Questions for the Week: Kingdom Way: Home
Read Matthew 28:1-10. The women and disciples felt darkness before the resurrection. Can you recall a time in your life when you felt a similar sense of darkness, shame or loss? How does the message of Christ's resurrection offer hope in those moments?
Jesus went before his disciples to Galilee, their "home," signifying restoration. In what ways can we, as a community or as individuals, create spaces of "home" for those who feel lost or alienated?
How does the concept of "hope and restoration" in Galilee connect with the broader story of God's redemption?
"Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!" How can we actively live this out in our daily lives, particularly when faced with our failures and challenges or? What practical steps can we take to embody the light of the resurrection?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
Ideologies Built on Hatred Cannot Tolerate Love
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another:
Daniel Ross
Dan is a good friend of mine, we went to seminary together. When his family is in Orlando we always see them. Knowing what Dan went though in 22’-23’makes this a powerful read. - Pastor Criss
———-
April 17, 2025 is Maundy Thursday. Maundy comes from the Latin word for "mandate", meaning "command". After washing His disciples feet Jesus tells them, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Since 2022 I have meditated much over these words of my Lord as it was then I stumbled into the beginnings of the Woke Right’s haphazard attempted foolish take over of my church body and helped to stop it. I am a member of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. I was formed as a pastor when the perceived primary threat to the faith was the post-Christian "Woke Left." As such, it was a shock at the suddenness of the rise of the post-Christian "Woke Right" (also referred to as the alt-right or dissident right). It was a larger shock that the post-Christian "Woke Right" seeks to take over conservative church bodies. Why would a group that detests Christian norms and values want to be associated with the church? Simple: power, fear, resentment.
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Power because they seek to impose their will on anyone and anything. The "Woke Right" and "Woke Left" seek to control everything. So they both must control as many institutions as possible to do so.
Resentment because much of the "Woke Right" is built upon hating their parents and grandparents. The "Woke" ideologies are peopled primarily by younger generations. And these younger generations do not like their parents and grandparents. All the world's problems are blamed on older generations. Boomers get their special ire. So they seek to destroy anything their parents have made or been a part of - so as to remake it in their image.
And finally, fear. Why fear? Christianity exposes the bankruptcy of the ideology. Christianity calls on people to love their neighbor, to love their enemy, to forgive, to take care of one another (those who are near and those who are far), to see the value of the shared common humanity in one another, to recognize the image of God in the other person. In short, Christianity has no tolerance for hatred. "Hate the sin, love the sinner." You can find that sentiment in the Church Fathers. It is not new. You can find it in Scripture. God puts a mark of protection on the murderer Cain.
The "Woke Right" hates the message of Christ and seeks to corrupt it to make a violent and fascistic version of the faith that preaches hatred instead of the commands of God. The “Woke Right” fears that Christianity will show people a better way - in effect true Christianity is an existential threat to its ideology. Love and hate cannot exist in the same space.
The similarities of the two groups (“Woke Left” and “Woke Right”) is uncanny, hence the same moniker used to describe them. Neil Shenvi did a masterful job explaining.
Both subscribe to critical theory’s conceptualization of hegemonic power.
Both demand that individuals internalize victimhood and victim status.
Both appeal to the idea of a critical consciousness and that people need to “wake up” and stop being blind like “normies”.
Both promote an ethnocentric identity over and against any commonality identity (and especially against a Christian’s identity in Jesus).
Both promote godless behavior and speech.
This is because at their core they are both animated by a lack of love. How do you know them? They refuse to love anyone not like them. And when I say "not like them" I mean one single deviation. They are ideologies of hate and resentment, constant outrage is their fuel and state of being. The memes of them screaming portrays the stereotype for a reason.
We are told that in the end three things remain: faith, hope, and love. And that the greatest of these is love. It is not easy to love. Maybe that is why we are commanded to do it? Maybe that is why so much time and energy is invested in teaching it to our children? It is easy to hate. We do not have to teach children to hate, we simply teach them current socially acceptable ways to express hatred. But love? We do have to teach that.
The final example Christ gave to His disciples was to wash their feet as a servant. If the Lord and Creator of the universe would stoop so low as to wash some dirty feet, how could we refuse to do the same?
I will protect this institution called the church. It does not need me to do so, it is the Lord's church. He is perfectly willing and able to do it and does it every single day. But I love it, for in this community I find Jesus and therefore I find love. So I will protect what I love from all its enemies - Left, Right, and Center. I will protect it not through violence or coercion, but through love. I will pray for its members and its enemies. I will pray for those inside and those outside. I will serve all whom the Lord puts across my path.
Some will undoubtedly see it as weakness. Some will mock, others will jeer, some will simply ignore. It is enough for me to serve, as my Lord served and continues to serve. He died for me, I will live and I will love for Him.
2nd Sunday School and Moana
Kids had a great time making art and participating in local arts.
This this weeks 2nd Sunday school they kids were able to learn and play but we also went to Centinel High School and watch their production of Moana!
Palm Saturday Clean Up! [Photos]
Cleaning up!
In 2025 we got together to clean up the church grounds on the Saturday before Palm Sunday
Good Friday - Abandoned Kingdom Way - Matthew’s Gospel
As we enter holy week Matthew wants us to see something so clear. We all have abandoned Jesus.
Maundy Thursday
Service & Live Stream 6PM
Good Friday
Noon & 7PM Service
7PM Live Stream
What Had happened at Grace this week.
Maundy Thursday - Kingdom Way - Matthew 26
Who would you allow at your table for dinner? Jesus is always accused of having the wrong people at his table. But if his table is big enough for Judas and Peter, then it is big enough for me.
Maundy Thursday
Service & Live Stream 6PM
Good Friday
Noon & 7PM Service
7PM Live Stream
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Absurd - Kingdom Way - Matthew 27](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1744338501707-J2NO2HP0O71D3M1HNYV6/KW+22a.jpg)
[Sunday] Absurd - Kingdom Way - Matthew 27
The Magi visiting the Holy Family is absurd. A Roman Governor's wife defending Jesus? Absurd. Most absurd? Jesus taking our cries of "Crucify!" to save us all. Matthew Chapter 27
The Magi visiting the Holy Family is absurd. A Roman Governor's wife defending Jesus? Absurd. Most absurd? Jesus taking our cries of "Crucify!" to save us all. Matthew Chapter 27
Questions for the Week: Kingdom Way: Absurd
Where do you see examples of absurd or illogical behavior driven by fear, self-interest, or the rejection of truth in our world today?
Read Matthew 27:11-31. In what ways might we, individually or collectively, be choosing a "Barabbas" over Jesus in our lives or society? What does that look like practically?
Can you think of examples where people, even with negative intentions, inadvertently speak or reveal a deeper truth?
The crowd had a choice between Jesus and Barabbas. What "kings" or priorities do we often choose to follow in our lives, and what are the consequences?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
Walther League 2nd Fridays 10 AM
We will have the church fellowship open for everyone to come and socialize in a cool place
2nd Fridays at 10:00 aM,
we will have the church fellowship open for everyone to come and socialize in a cool place.
We will provide some snacks, drinks and air conditioning.
You can come to socialize, play cards or games you may have at home.
Anything can happen! Let’s try it!
Leigh Liagre is setting it up. If you would like more information or to help, call or text Leigh
The Rock - Sermon On The Mount - Matthew 7:13-29
Sermon on the Mount this Lent
Week 5 is The Rock - Matthew 7:13-29
Wednesday
Potluck Dinner 5:30
Lent Service 6:30PM
Sermon on the Mount This Lent
The Rock - Matthew 7:13-29
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] The Thing We Hate - Kingdom Way - Matthew 26b](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1743730439101-6C4N0W2IL1JTKUJI7LSX/KW+21a.jpg)
[Sunday] The Thing We Hate - Kingdom Way - Matthew 26b
The paradox of becoming what we hate finds its resolution in the cross, where darkness is not fought but absorbed. Matthew Chapter 26b
The paradox of becoming what we hate finds its resolution in the cross, where darkness is not fought but absorbed. Matthew Chapter 26b
Questions for the Week: Kingdom Way: The Thing We Hate
Can you think of a time when you felt yourself becoming the thing you disliked or hated? What triggered that, and how did it make you feel?
Read Matthew 26:31-75. Why do you think Peter and the disciples so strongly denied their potential for failure? How does this relate to our own tendencies toward self-deception?
Why do you think Matthew chose to keep the sword holder unnamed? How does this encourage us to see ourselves in the narrative?
What does it mean to "absorb evil” rather than perpetuate it, as Jesus did on the cross? In a world driven by retaliation, how can we apply this principle of “absorbing evil” in our daily lives?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![Habitat for Children Clinic in Action [Photos]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1743775958834-NGYSRJHNXPLBYBJ28YDO/487204084_964799482509376_8992233462930826021_n%2B%25281%2529.jpg)
Habitat for Children Clinic in Action [Photos]
See Photos of the Habitat for Children Center in Action
New baby was born because of our care at the clinic.
We are overjoyed to announce the arrival of our precious newborn, Elizabeth! Born on March 23,2025 @ 7:30 pm , she has already captured our hearts with her sweet spirit and tiny features. We look forward to sharing countless beautiful moments as she grows and begins to explore the world around her. Welcome to the family, little Elizabeth!
Thursday April 3rd, Habitat for Children’s Clinic did what they call a mobile clinic day.
This day walk in appointments are welcome to get needs check out. This mobile clinic day was held at the care center.
Guys Night - 5:45pm 1st Thursdays
Going to Casa Amigos Authentic Mexican Restaurant
US1 PSL
- April 3rd 2025 - 5:45pm
Casa Amigos
Authentic Mexican Restaurant
US 1 in PSL
https://maps.app.goo.gl/iFWn1pn1LipLUNRTA
7950 S S U.S. Hwy 1, Port St. Lucie, FL 34952
Relationships - Sermon On The Mount - Matthew 6:21-7:12
Sermon on the Mount this Lent
Week 4 is Relationships - Matthew 6:21-7:12
Wednesday
Potluck Dinner 5:30
Lent Service 6:30PM
Sermon on the Mount This Lent
Relationships - Matthew 6:21-7:12
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Is It I? - Kingdom Way - Matthew 26a](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1743127054247-ZE8MXJVR10Y1BOA7NARW/KW+20a.jpg)
[Sunday] Is It I? - Kingdom Way - Matthew 26a
Though shadowed by betrayal, a moment of lavish love reveals a redemption that waits for us in Galilee. Matthew Chapter 26a
Though shadowed by betrayal, a moment of lavish love reveals a redemption that waits for us in Galilee.Matthew Chapter 26a
Questions for the Week: Kingdom Way: Is It I?
Where do you see "wasteful" acts of love and devotion in today's world, and how are they perceived by others?
Read Matthew 26:6-13. Why was the woman’s act seen as wasteful? Can you think of a time when someone's act of generosity or love seemed "wasteful" to others? How can we cultivate a heart that appreciates and responds to God's extravagant grace?
Read Matthew 14:-32. The sermon emphasized how the disciples allowed their "I" to get in the way. Where in your own life do you see your "I" taking priority over God's will? Are there any specific situations where you need to examine your motives?
We often fear failure and try to hide our weaknesses. How does the message that Jesus goes before us in Galilee, even after our failures, comfort you? How can we create a safe space where we can acknowledge our weaknesses and support each other in times of failure?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
A call to make disciples, rooted in Jesus's enduring love, empowers even the doubting to share a love that defines the very heart of the church. Matthew Chapter 28