Beyond Comprehension. Worship: May 31, 2026

We usually think of ourselves as small, humble creatures. We are subject to the creation in which we live and often are at the mercy of the forces around us. But we are reminded in Genesis that we are the crown of God’s creation, part and parcel of all He has made. We cannot understand Him, but we know enough. That is Peter’s reminder to those who executed Jesus: He did not stay dead but was able to overcome the forces opposed to Him—for us! We have work to do, Jesus tells the disciples and us in the Gospel. But we do not have to do it alone. Though we cannot understand Him, God is with us each day in His strength, mercy, and forgiving love. In short, we need not comprehend our great God; we only receive all the love He has for us. “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:1).

Where the Spirit Flows, Life Grows. Worship: May 24, 2026

Capilino Suspension Bridge Park, Vancouver BC  Photo: Aimee Munson March 2026

The arrival of the Holy Spirit is a day of celebration. This is a day to rejoice in promises kept and anticipate greater things to come. Today’s festival is a bridge for the church. It connects the commemoration of the life of Christ (through Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter) to the season centered on our life in Christ, beginning with Pentecost. The festival’s signature red color reminds us of the fiery arrival of the Spirit, the Spirit’s ongoing work as the heartbeat of Christ’s church, and the blood shed by believers past and present as they proclaim the crucified, risen, and ascended Christ.

Lord, Teach Us to Pray! Worship: May 15, 2026

Christians are “faith alone” people. We most often think of that in terms of salvation: we are saved by faith alone! But throughout our daily life, Christians function by faith alone. We practice generous stewardship by faith alone, trusting in the God who supplies all our needs. We keep God’s commands by faith alone, confident that His ways are better than our ways. And we pray by faith alone, assured our loving God has opened His door and His heart to hear and answer us. It is faith, and faith alone, that fuels us for life today and secures us for the life to come.

Is God’s Love for Us “Iffy”? Worship: May 10, 2026

Throughout our lives, we look for a helper. Maybe that’s a parent who can hold our hand to cross the street, a spouse who can open the pickle jar, or an expert who delivers wisdom we don’t have. Our Lord Jesus Christ sends us a helper, the promised Holy Spirit. The Spirit opens our heart to faith and then fills it with heavenly wisdom. Present in our Baptism and present today in worship, the Spirit keeps our hand firmly in our Savior’s, so that linked by love, we can walk confidently in His promises.

Easter Light—Eternal Light. Worship: May 3, 2026

Since 1986, voice actor Tom Bodett has had his career defined with a one-line promotion for the Motel 6 hotel chain. He always ends his commercials for the company with a simple line stating “we’ll leave the light on for you.” Having an assured place to be going to can be encouraging and comforting. As Jesus speaks with His disciples, we hear Him reassure them and us that He will be in His Father’s house, the heavenly place where lights are not even necessary. In the Revelation to John, we have this insight about our God’s eternal city: “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:23). In “Jerusalem the Golden,” medieval monk Bernard of Cluny writes of the “radiancy of glory” and the “bliss beyond compare” that are in store for God’s redeemed people there (LSB 672:1). As we share in the foretaste of the feast to come through our worship, we can only imagine what joys still await us.

Easter Light—Gladsome Light. Worship: April 26, 2026

One of the longest lasting of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was the Pharos Lighthouse that was constructed at the entry of the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt, in the third century BC. Although weakened by a series of earthquakes, it remained standing in part until AD 1480. Initially, its source of light was the brightness of the sun reflected in a great mirror by day and the flames of a great wood fire reflected by the same mirror at night. The gradual disintegration of the tower, initially some 330 feet in height, finally extinguished its light. As He spoke with His disciples, Jesus described Himself as the light that never will be extinguished. John reports: “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12). On our journey through this dark world, we are blessed to have the light of Christ as our unfailing guide. It truly is the light no darkness can overcome.

Easter Light—Gladsome Light. Worship: April 19, 2026

Whether we will admit it or not, many of us are logophiles, which means that we love words. All of us have far more words in our vocabularies than we use in our daily conversation. We know what the words mean but for some reason we do not say them much. Words come into and go out of fashion and usage. One of those words that are not used much anymore is gladsome. It appears in several hymns of the Christmas season and is in the first line of the ancient evening hymn “O Gladsome Light, O Grace” (LSB 888), which dates back to the fourth century AD and was originally in the Greek language. It describes Jesus as being the ultimate gladsome light with these words: “O gladsome Light, O Grace of God the Father’s face, eternal splendor wearing: celestial, holy, blest, our Savior Jesus Christ, joyful in Thine appearing!” (LSB 888:1). Jesus, the risen Lord, is the light that brings gladness to each hour of the day. We are blessed in that we can always rejoice in His brightness!

Easter Light. Glorious Light. Worship: April 12, 2026

“Seeking dedicated worker. Suffering not optional.” If we were to read that simple line in a job posting, it certainly would give us pause. People generally want to avoid suffering at any cost. Scripture reminds us that there may be a dynamic of discomfort to faith-filled living that follows the call of the risen Savior. In his hymn text “‘Come, Follow Me,’ the Savior Spake” from the 1600s, Johann Scheffler concludes, “Then let us follow Christ, our Lord, and take the cross appointed and, firmly clinging to His Word, in suff’ring be undaunted. For those who bear the battle’s strain the crown of heav’nly life obtain” (LSB 688:5). The challenges of the twenty-first century may differ from those of the seventeenth, but they are just as real. Our Lord promises that He is always with us on our life’s journey. With Easter joy, we travel onward together toward His glorious heavenly kingdom!

Easter Light—Resurrection Light. Worship: April 5, 2026

Are you wearing a new outfit for Easter? The custom of putting on new clothes for Easter Day has a long Christian history. In the earliest centuries after the ascension of Christ, newly baptized Christians wore white garments of new linen as a visible sign of the newness that being baptized had brought into their lives. Soon it became a tradition that all the faithful would join the newly baptized in arraying themselves on Easter in a new outfit to symbolize the new life that Jesus, through His resurrection, made a reality for all believers. The new clothes were much more than a fashion statement; they were a statement of faith. No matter what we are wearing today as individuals, together we share the best eternal clothing there is!

Altogether New: New Passover. Worship: April 2, 2026

As the Lord Jesus had His disciples make preparations for the annual Passover meal, little did they know that this would be the very last official observance of the commanded remembrance of the exodus deliverance of the Jewish people from Egyptian bondage in the days of Moses. For in the next three days (the Triduum), the fulfillment of that prophetic event would culminate in the deliverance of all people from the bondage of sin and death by means of the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah and deliverer. Tonight the “cup of blessing” (1 Corinthians 10:16) of the Passover meal is made to be the means of our participation in the very blood to be shed in atonement on the cross of Good Friday. Tonight this cup becomes the Sacrament of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation given to each individual believer from now on until the Lord returns on the Last Day. Tonight it is of utmost importance for all to hear and to believe in the very real presence of our crucified and risen Lord Jesus not just “spiritually” but “in, with, and under” the bread and wine we share, for the Lord Himself invites us to take and eat His body and to take and drink His blood, shed for us.