This is the way we greet each other on Easter Sunday and on the Sundays during the Easter season. This greeting connects us to Christians over the millennia since Jesus’ death and resurrection, reminding us of the surprise and joy that Christians will always experience at that thought.
It’s easy to understand why the early Christians were absolutely astounded that, hope against hope, their Lord, Savior, and friend was ALIVE!
We have just celebrated our annual Confirmation service, also called the Affirmation of Baptism service. In our tradition, we baptize people of any age, which is consistent with our belief that Salvation is a gift which we cannot earn but can only receive. Some of the ways we bring this gift to life in us are through receiving Holy Baptism, by Affirming that Baptism when we are old enough to make our own decisions (the most recent research suggests that our brains are not fully functional until around the age of 26,
The southwest window of the Grace Lutheran Church sanctuary is one of the more dramatic scenes portrayed on the stained-glass windows of our church. The scene depicts a rugged rocky cliff. The scragly shrub, clinging to the side of the precipice, gives the feeling of steep mountainsides and deep narrow passes. Caught on the side of the sheer fall, halfway down the mountain, is the crumpled and caught body of the lost sheep.
Isaiah 40: 29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him and who have been called according to his purpose.
Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak from want,
“Tried to walk on my own but I wound up lost. Now I’m making my way to the foot of the cross. It’s not a trophy for the winners. It’s a shelter for the sinners. And it’s right where I belong. Take me back to the place that feels like home, to the people I can depend on, to the faith that’s in my bones. Take me back to a preacher and a verse,