A group of about 50 people from St Mark Lutheran Church and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church met at Gloria Dei for 4 consecutive weeks to discuss a document which is circulating nationwide titled “Reclaiming Jesus: A Confession of Faith in a Time of Crisis”. That document, which is signed by a large number of religious…
On this 12th Sunday after Pentecost, John 6:35,41-51 is today’s Gospel. After feeding more than five thousand people in the wilderness, Jesus teaches them regarding the true significance of this remarkable sign. Pastor David Nelson said that today’s lessons ask us to recall and remember foods for the journey of our lives. Jesus is the…
The theme for several weeks, in the Gospel of John, has been bread. In our Gospel for today, John 6:24-35, Jesus refers to himself as the bread of life, identifying with the most basic of foods; simple, everyday sustenance. Pastor Nelson reminded us that the simple bread becomes a feast when many share the eucharist together. The bread…
Today’s Gospel (John 6:1-15) reminds us that Jesus saw the hunger and need for nourishment, and provided food for the 5000. He turned 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish into enough to feed the crowd, until all were satisfied. Today, even though we are blessed with abundance, we are often too concerned with carbs…
Naps are a good thing! Pastor David Nelson emphasized this during his time with the children and in his sermon based on today’s Gospel (Mark 6:30-34, 53-56). Jesus told his disciples to rest after they had traveled much and taught many. They tried to get away to a “deserted place by themselves”. But they were…
Sometimes, you need the whole story. Mark’s gospels are kind of like a detective story with everything pointing to the Cross. Today was Mark 6:14-29 telling of the beheading of John the Baptist. All sorrows can be bourn if you put them into a story. Retired Pastor David Nelson said he wonders if this is…
Jesus, early in God’s ministry, goes back to his hometown and is rejected by some in today’s gospel, Mark 6:1-13. Jesus had gained the trust of his twelve disciples and some authority but some of his former neighbors still looked at him as the son of Mary, son of a carpenter and uneducated. Someone pulls…
6/7/2018 12:30:00 PM CHICAGO (June 7, 2018) – The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has convened ELCA ecumenical and inter-religious partners in a statement addressing concerns over a recent U.S. government policy calling for more stringent enforcement of federal immigration laws. The policy will most likely…
Mark 5:21-43 Gospel tells the story of two people who believed in Jesus’s power to heal and bring life out of death. One, a man with riches and power, begs Jesus to leave the crowds he is surrounded by and heal his daughter and the other is an unclean woman, who knows if she can…
In today’s Gospel (Mark 4:35-41), Jesus called to his disciples to get into a boat and cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. It was evening and they were ready for rest near the warmth of a fire. They had no desire to get up, get in a boat and travel out…