Office Hours: 8:30 am to 1:30 pm Wed.-Fri.
828 W. Main St., Grass Valley • (530) 273-9631
A Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
When our burdens grow too heavy – then what? Paul carried heavy burdens, too: He wanted to do the right thing. In his head, he knew he wanted it. But despite knowing it and wanting it, something inside him made him do the wrong thing. He couldn’t help it! He could feel the war going […]
God’s people know welcome and rejection! Welcome and rejection figure prominently in Matthew’s Gospel as Jesus tells his followers what to expect. Jesus also introduces the theme of whoever, weaving this word with the other two. Rejection and conflict loomed in last Sunday’s story, when Jesus warns his followers that his radical message of God’s […]
Jesus brings good news to you! God’s news is sooo different from the world’s news! At a time when mistrust, accusations and fear abound, God assures us that His News of a new way of life is absolutely true. We can believe in complete safety that God is no fake. In Jesus’ day, people felt […]
Trinity: One God, Three Persons When Christians talk about God as a Trinity, it’s easier to say who God isn’t, than to explain who God is. The Trinity is not one being with three job titles. Nor is the Trinity three separate pieces that form one being. And God is not a split personality. All […]
Jesus breathes God’s spirit into you, too! A spirit-filled life – that’s what we all need! Jesus understood that better than anyone. So when he got ready to leave this Earth, he assured his followers that, yes, he really had risen from the dead. Yes, he really was the Son of God! And yes, he […]
A kingdom of violence? Violence in the world might make us wonder, where is God in all this? God’s kingdom is not of this world, but it is breaking into this world through our lives and actions — Here! Now! “If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me […]
God is always in charge! “This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.” – Mark 13:8. Jesus’s friends are impressed with the majesty of the Temple in Jerusalem. But he warns them not to be dazzled by the physical world. Change is coming! We, too, might be impressed. Or perhaps depressed. What are we […]
“She put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” – Mark 12:44 God loves the vulnerable: Widows, orphans, the poor – the Bible tells us again and again that they hold a special place in God’s heart. We, too, are to protect and help them. But today’s reading leads us deeper: […]
All Saints Day celebrates our dear departed ones. Today we honor their memory: At the altar this morning, we name them, shed our tears of sorrow, and ring a bell to remind us that their souls live eternally with God. They have “fought the good fight of faith,” living their lives in service to God and […]
Today we celebrate Reformation Sunday. Jesus often asks his followers to re-form themselves into his image – but reform at any level can be a tough thing to ask. In today’s gospel, a blind man named Bartimaeus cries out to Jesus for mercy and for healing. Jesus heals his physical malady – and immediately, Bartimaeus […]