Are You The Keymaker

Read the entire article at Are You the Key Master? - Mockingbird (mbird.com)

Ghostbusters, Gozer, and Jesus

When I was a kid, a young kid, say five years old, my dad was approached by one of our neighbors, who wanted to know if everything was OK in our house. My dad was perplexed because, on our quiet cul-de-sac, everything was always OK. Nothing exciting ever happened and that was how the residents on the quiet cul-de-sac liked things………………………

Judges Chapter 11-12 Bible Study

Judges chapters 9-10

Forgiving Challenge Together Groups

New Together Group Weeks Released Sunday at 11am

We are stronger together and any challenge is better when helped.
I encourage you to meeting with other people to watch each week’s video and go through the discussion questions.

Forgiving Challenge! New Series in September

Discover what real freedom is like as we explore the powerful forgiveness that Jesus offers to each and every person, including you!

Far more people struggle with reconciling their own mistakes than forgiving others. While we ought always to excel in being gracious to others, Forgiving Challenge is unique because it leads its readers on a personal journey to truly understand and receive God’s forgiveness. Also, we are invited to then live out of the forgiveness that Jesus has already won for us. A forgiven person is a forgiving person.

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• September 10 Intro

  • Day 1: Tuesday

• September 17

  • Sin Day 6

• September 24

  • Confession Day 13

• October 1

  • Absolution Day 20

• October 8

  • Restoration Day 27

• October 15

  • Sanctification Day 34

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September 10th we are starting the Forgiving Challenge.

Red Letter Challenge is a dynamic 40-day experience that helps people more effectively follow Jesus Christ!

• Practice the Habits of Jesus

• Find Joy in Relationship with God

• Discover Purpose Being with God

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Purchase the Workbook

• Grabe a Workbook.

  • The books can be shared but feel free to grab what you need

• The church has ordered some Being books.

  • The books cost the church 25$ Per Book

  • As with everything if 25$ is too much please take one.

• Both Amazon and RLC both are selling the book

  • both links are included.

    • Amazon may be faster,

    • RLC will be cheaper.

Buy the Book on Amazon

Forgiving Challenge: A 40-Day Life-Changing Journey to Freedom

By Zach Zehnder

Buy on Amazon

Buy the book on Red Letter challenge Site

[Sunday] The Way - Titus Chapter 2

The church should be an agent of transformation - not through culture wars or assimilation, but through wise participation in culture, devotion to Jesus, and the common good. All of this helps us show the beauty of the message about our saving God.

QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK:  The Way

1. Describe a time when you saw a Christian living poorly in society.  What was his reputation?  What effect did this have on his witness?

2. Read Titus 2:1-15.   How does Paul encourage us to live? What effect does this way of life have on our witness (see verses 5, 8, 10)?

3. How has Jesus freed us to live this way (see verses 11-15)?

4. Describe a time when you saw a Chrstian living as a good citizen in society.  What was his reputation?  What effect did this have on his witness?

““Is there anything better than a wife who is chaste, domestic, a good housekeeper, a rearer of children; one to gladden you in health, to tend you in sickness, to be your partner in good fortune, to console you in misfortune; to restrain you in the mad passion of youth and to temper the unseasonable harshness of old age?””

— Caeser Augustus

New Song this Sunday

Watch to get acquainted.

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Judges Ch9-10 Bible Study

Judges chapters 9-10

The Best Boss You'll Ever Have

Read the article at The Best Boss You'll Ever Have - Mockingbird (mbird.com)

THE BEST BOSS YOU’LL EVER HAVE

I was told I was beloved and worthy and so I began to believe it and act accordingly.

SARAH CONDON / 8.23.23

The following excerpt comes from Churchy: The Real Life Adventures of a Wife, Mom, and Priest:

In 2013 the Harvard Business Review published a study called “If Your Boss Thinks You’re Awesome, You Will Become More Awesome.” Their research proved what every low (wo)man on the totem pole already knew: If your boss treats you like a great employee, it will make you less likely to be a bad one. Results showed the quality of peoples’ leadership within a company being vastly better if their boss believed that they were, in fact, awesome. Conversely, the harder your bosses are on you, the less effective your work and leadership were in the eyes of your peers. In other words, if your boss speaks a word of worthiness over you, you begin to believe you are worthy.

Most of us have work experience that speaks to this dichotomy. In my first grown-up job, I had a boss who would stand at the door every day and tell me if I was late. Most mornings I was not. And so she would begrudgingly grumble out a “Good morning, Sarah.” However, when I was running behind she would bark out, “TWO MINUTES LATE!” to me at the door followed by a “You’re lucky we are so forgiving!”

Forgiving indeed…………………………..

[Sunday] Zeus’ Cretans - Titus Chapter 1

Titus was called to the island of Zeus’ birth, Crete. Those who lived on the island took great pride, even acting like their unhinged god. This wild behavior caused those in Greece frustration. The question is, how do you bring hope to a place that is filled with dishonor?

QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK:   Zeus’ Cretans

1. Titus does ministry in Crete, the epicenter of the worship of the Greek gods.  What advice would you give someone doing ministry in that type of culture?

2. How is that culture similar to today?   

3. Read Titus 1:1-16.  What advice does Paul give to Titus ministering in Crete?

4. After reading Titus, how can you follow the way Paul is beginning to lay out and bring peace in a chaotic world?

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Judges Ch6-8 Bible Study

Judges chapters 6-8

NT Wright on Easter Atonement and the Message of the Cross

Read the entire article at N.T. Wright on Easter, Atonement and the Message of the Cross - RELEVANT (relevantmagazine.com)

Whether you’ve been around Christianity for years or are new to faith, you probably know the Easter story. It goes something like this: Humans are sinners; Jesus died as a sacrifice, paying for our sins; and then three days later, Jesus came to life again — the result of which is that His followers can go to heaven when they die. But what if we’re getting it all wrong?

“Many people have grown up assuming that is what the cross is all about,” says world-renowned theologian, scholar and author of The Day the Revolution Began, N.T. Wright. “And the awful thing is that this message about an angry God and an innocent victim has a lot more in common with ancient Pagan thought than with ancient Jewish or Christian thought.”……………………

Titus: Honor Amongst Dishonor (Teaching Series)

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Titus

This short letter has a huge goal. The church should be an agent of transformation, not though culture wars or assimilation, but though wise participation in culture, devotion to Jesus and the common good. So that we will show the beauty of the message about our saving God.

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Reading Plan
Read around the readings for Sunday

• Aug 20th

  • Leviticus 10:8-11

  • Titus 1:1-16

  • Matthew 23:23-28

• Aug 27th

  • Isaiah 61:10- 62:3

  • Titus 2:1-15

  • Luke 6:46-49

• Sep 3rd

  • Exodus 19:3-6

  • Titus 3:1-15

  • Matthew 22:15-22

[Sunday] Frist Apostle - Missio Dei

Mary came to the tomb feeling last and wanting to cry. Peter knew his faith, who was in and who was out. Yet when they both felt last, God sent them to be the first.

QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK:   First Apostle 

1. When are some times you were beat down by society and made to feel “last?”

2. Read Matthew 28:1-10.  When Jesus died, how do you think Mary Magdalene would have felt?  How do you think she felt as she runs to tell the disciples about the resurrection?

3. How does the resurrection of Jesus change the plot of life for Mary Magdalene? How does the resurrection of Jesus change the plot of life for Peter (Read Acts 10: 34-48)?   

4. How does the resurrection of Jesus change the plot of your life?

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Photos of Walther League and Church Railing

Pictures from the Last Luther League and the New railing is installed

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Judges Ch3-5 Bible Study

Judges chapters 3-5

Kids Singing & Blessing Summer Kids Bible Club Closing

Great Time at Summer Kids Bible Club.
For closing the kids sang during church and Pastor Cris blessed them for the school year.

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Check out these fun pictures from Summer Kids Bible Club

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[Sunday] Wilderness Voice - Missio Dei

The voice of one calling, like comfort to us all. That voice of comfort does not come from high pyramids or silver stones or fancy horses but from the wilderness.

QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK:   Wilderness Voice

1. When you think of the voice calling from the wilderness and John the Baptist as that voice, what do you think of when you hear wilderness?

2. Read Mark 1:1-13. John the Baptist is that Voice from the wilderness, and Jesus goes into the wilderness after being baptized. What do you think the wilderness means at the beginning of the Gospel of Mark?

3. Read Isaiah 40:1-8. Why do you think this passage begins with “Comfort, comfort” before talking about the wilderness? 

4. What are those  places of struggle that God can give you a voice of good news for your neighbors?

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Are Aliens Saved by the Blood of the Lamb Too?

Read the whole article here Are Aliens Saved by the Blood of the Lamb Too? - Mockingbird (mbird.com)

If you haven’t been following the news coming out of the congressional hearings on UFOs, the (possible) revelations from the whistleblower last week are pretty wild stuff. As if stolen from the X-files, we’ve heard allegations of aircraft of “non-human” origin, “a multi-decade [UFO] crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program,” and the discovery of “non-human biologics.” These come on top of the decades of mysterious footage of floating vessels and hypersonic fly-bys. For some, the question isn’t whether aliens exist, but how far down the conspiracy-theory rabbit hole goes. The truth is not only “out there,” but has occasionally come for a visit.

Given the seemingly infinite number of galaxies we can now observe, courtesy of the James Webb Space Telescope, the possibility of intelligent alien life can feel more probable than impossible. Or at the very least, the niche extraterrestrial fandom that has long found themselves as the butt of jokes — only the mentally ill wear tinfoil hats — have more reason to feel their suspicions vindicated.

If aliens showed up tomorrow on the White House lawn, how would their possible existence shift Christian theology? Which beliefs would now appear implausible and what would be left after the dust settled?

This thought experiment isn’t merely hypothetical. As silly as it is for me to even be writing an article about extraterrestrials, recent polls have found that 65% of Americans now believe that aliens exist, only a smidge lower than the 81% who believe in God. To say nothing of the decades of movies, TV, books, or comics depicting alien encounters. One can ponder why most now think there is extraterrestrial ………………….

Judges Ch1-2 Bible Study

Judges chapters 1-2

Last Week of Summer Kids Bible Club (Photos)

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[Sunday] First You're Last - Missio Dei

It’s always amazing to see us, workers of God’s kingdom, trying to maintain a pecking order of righteousness in the midst of such great generosity of our God. 

QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK:   First You’re Last

1. When do you feel the pressure to be first or the best?  When has that backfired on you?

2. Read Matthew 20:1-16.  What is the danger of thinking this parable is about compensation for work completed?

3. What is the danger of thinking you deserve something special if you’re a diligent worker?

4. What does it look like for you to rejoice in the “denarius” that God gives to you this week?

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What Had happened at Grace this week.