True North VBS

Friends of Immanuel,

A very quick recap of my message yesterday about the prophet Elijah from 1 Kings 19. The touchpoints that I held up for us included:

1. There are times when all of us have felt, “I’ve had enough, Lord!” I appreciate all the heartfelt stories that you shared with me via email about those times that you’ve said those words. If you still want to send your story my way, please do! To say or feel this way doesn’t mean you don’t have enough faith or that you’re not a good Christian. In our brokenness and in the brokenness of this world, life is not perfect, even for Christians. To acknowledge that we’ve hit our “limits,” is a healthy first step of prayer to our Lord for His help and strength in the situations in which we find ourselves.
2. Related to that, the angel of the Lord’s message to Elijah, “The journey is too much for you,” is also something all of us need to hear and realize – this is a reality for all of us. And that’s why Jesus is here! This journey of life and of following Jesus is too much for us – we can’t do it on our own. Repeat that last phrase! But we have a Savior who has come and won the victory over our sin, over the devil, and over death. He has promised us that He IS with us always, to the very end of the age! As we journey together (yes, that is an important part of this, too – that God has put us in families, friend groups, churches, and communities), don’t go it alone. Lean into the Lord and into fellow believers for this amazing journey of life and faith.
3. Finally, where do we find God? He can be found exactly where He’s told us – not necessarily in the big, splashy ways, but more often He can be found in unexpected and simple ways, as with Elijah when God came to him in a gentle whisper. What are those gentle whispers? The splash of water in baptism; bread and wine at the Table; living and active words of Scripture; and when 2 or 3 of His people are gathered – in worship of Him. But, as we talked about, those gentle whispers can also be an invitation to a cup of coffee, a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, a hand up when we’ve fallen. God is not hiding – He is always here for us!

My final encouragement was this. When life gets rough, don’t hide in a cave. Isolation is a tool of the devil – he wants us to feel isolated and alone. The truth is, we’re not alone – not ever! So especially when life gets rough, come to the places where God has assured us He can be found; listen for His gentle whispers, wherever those might be found. Hear His promises of His love for you, the encouragement He wants you to hear, the help He offers, and the hope He holds out.

If you’ve got time, read 1 Kings 18 and the account of the “battle of the prophets” that preceded Elijah’s going on the run. It’s powerful and also hilarious – you’ll discover that Elijah was among the first smack-talkers in history!

Here is this week’s What Now? that I hope you can put into practice.

What Now?

When the journey seems too much for you and you find yourself thinking, “I’ve had enough, Lord!”, be still. As you rest, listen for that powerful yet gentle whisper from the Lord to sustain you – in His Word, in worship, at the Lord’s Supper – as you remember His many powerful promises to you.

Last item for today – this morning we began Vacation Bible School with 245 children here to sing, play, and learn more about Jesus. Please be praying for Miss Emma, for all of our middle school, high school, and adult helpers, and for the Good News of Jesus to be heard and received by many throughout this week! Here’s a picture of our full sanctuary – praise God!

Serving together in Christ alone!

Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,
As I mentioned Pastor Robin in last Sunday’s sermon and also in this current week’s What Now?, I thought it would be great to allow him the opportunity to follow-up on opportunities to read, study, and grow in God’s Word this summer with today’s lead article. So here is some further encouragement from Pastor Robin, Immanuel’s Director of Discipleship and Connecting Ministries:

For this Update, I’d like to continue to encourage you in your reading, growth, understanding and application of God’s Word to your day-to-day living. It’s important to be reading the Bible regularly. That spiritual habit not only gives us further opportunities to get to know more about our Savior and Lord Jesus, but also puts us in a place where the Holy Spirit continues to transform our minds and hearts, giving us more and more what the Apostle Paul calls a “renewed mind” (Romans 12:1-2), the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

In addition, the Word of God changes our way of thinking, processing, and navigating life. The Bible is the cradle of Christ. It generates life. It creates faith. It provides guidance. It makes the foolish wise. It makes the faltering strong. It makes the discouraged hopeful. It is so simple and yet so deep that the early church fathers used to say, “A gnat could swim in it, but an elephant could drown in it.” Reading the Bible honors God and worries the Devil. It reminds the lonely that there are reasons to love this life and gives them assurance that there is eternal life with the Lord still to come.

In God’s Word, we discover how the world got made, by Whom, for what, and where it is heading. From the Bible you will learn your identity, your family, your true enemy, and the awful calamity of sin. You will also discover the royal pedigree of your life as a child of the King and your eternal destiny as a citizen of His eternal Kingdom. No other book comes close to that.

Below are some great resources for discovering more about God’s Word. Start with understanding the storyline of the Bible...the consistent themes that cover all verses, chapters, and 66 books. The Bible Project (https://bibleproject.com) has a great video on that subject alone (https://bibleproject.com/videos/the-story-of-the-bible/). There are study notes and a transcript to read if you choose to do so. In addition, there are active links (especially this one – https://bibleproject.com/videos/collections/how-to-read-the-bible) to the entire series on HOW to read the Bible and its diverse literary styles, genres, etc. Each link gives you a deeper dive into understanding not just the Bible’s content (and main “character,” Jesus!) but also a more profound appreciation of how it was written.

Make this summer one that will be memorable in your walk with Jesus! Remember our Immanuel’s Marks of Discipleship include being intentional in our spiritual growth as well as being diligent in our reading and growing in God’s Word! Let’s grow this summer – together! —Pastor Robin.

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

We kicked off our summer series, God of the Unexpected, by thinking about Truth – not something we typically think about as surprising or unexpected. As I expressed in my message yesterday, there is so much that can be easy for us at Immanuel to take for granted – things that we’ve always done that feel very normal, but things that are not the norm for all churches. One of the more significant of those includes what we talked at length about yesterday, which is the gift of God’s Word and the Truth we stand on. This is one of the means by which the Holy Spirit “guides us in all truth” (John 16:13).

We know we can trust this Spirit-given Word of God to be our Truth, through and through! From the mysteries of the Trinity to Jesus and everything about Him—the prophecies about Him, His conception and birth, His teaching and preaching, His miracles, His healings, His confrontation of lies, deceit, corruption and more, and the completion of His mission of laying down His life on the cross and the miracle of His resurrection, ascension into heaven, and His many promises of which we can count on in our lives. God’s Word is also Truth for us when it comes to calling us out with regard to our sin and brokenness (yes, as Christians, too – we are NOT perfect!), and the important side-by-side with that of our Savior’s unconditional love for us and the complete and total forgiveness He offers us. These are but some of the beautiful and powerful unexpected truths that our God has promised us and with which He has gifted us.

We also know that God has designed life in a way that He knows is best and He lays out for us how to navigate this life in such a way that we can live and experience life to the fullest (John 10:10). Some of those matters are clearly laid out for us in His Word of Truth when it comes to issues of gender and sexuality, issues of life and abortion and end-of-life matters, and, as we celebrated Father’s Day yesterday, holding up healthy masculinity – not mocking or demeaning fathers or men but embracing who God has made us to be as men of God and the callings He’s given us to be leaders in our homes, our churches, and our communities. These are issues, if we take seriously the Truth of God’s Word, are expressed clearly and, unfortunately, are at odds with so much of what our culture today is “preaching.” But this is all part of God’s good and healthy design for life and life to the full.

Let’s together, unapologetically, stand firmly on this powerful Truth that can change lives, offer hope, and be a blessing beyond what we at times can even imagine. Take this week’s What Now? to heart as we live our lives – which in Jesus is real life – with joy, encouragement, and boldness, sharing His life-giving Truth with others.

What Now?

Let God’s Truth be your Truth. Stand firmly on and in God’s Word, which points us to Jesus, by being regularly in the Bible. Use the Bring It Home daily devotions; use the Bible Project resources Pastor Robin is holding up this summer; gather together with family or with friends in some Bible study or discussion groups. Let the Holy Spirit guide you daily in His Truth.

Serving together in Christ alone!

Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

This Saturday is our huge annual Sweetheart City Car Show – it is going to be amazing and I hope many of you are not only able to help with this event but that you’re also able to come and enjoy some of the fun!

Then on Sunday we are beginning our new summer series – God of the Unexpected. This summer series will be full of surprises! We’ll be moving around between the Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel readings, looking at miracle stories, stories that defy belief, and stories that turn the unexpected into the expected. Over and over again, the Lord shows us who He is – a God of grace, a God of surprises, and a God of the unexpected. And because of that, as people of faith in our amazing Triune God, be prepared to expect the unexpected!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

I can’t believe I’m saying this in the first week of June – but hang on because the Lord is up to some amazing things and we all get to not only witness it all, but we get to be part of it all as His hands, His feet, and His voice! We’ve got the Sweetheart City Car Show coming in 9 days and Vacation Bible School in 18 days – both of which are truly “all-hands-on-deck” opportunities for everyone here at Immanuel. See the articles below in today’s update and, if you haven’t already, look for some of the many, many ways that you be part of these outreach, Radical Hospitality, sharing-Jesus-and-His-love events! Thank you in advance for giving of yourselves and your time to serve, for giving and donating some of the many needed supplies, and for praying for the Lord to work mightily in the hearts and lives of the people who will be here for the Car Show and for VBS.

Throughout the year we’ve been supporting and encouraging our youth who will be attending the National Youth Gathering in July. In today’s update you’ll read about two other simple and fun ways to support them with their final fundraisers (hint, hint – they’re both delicious!!). Be praying for Miss Emma, the other adult leaders, and our youth, that all the final details come together smoothly before they leave for New Orleans on July 19^th

The Finance Team and Executive Council have been working hard on the 2025-2026 budget and I hope you have both the Pre-Voting Assembly meeting as well as the Voting Assembly meeting dates on your calendar (June 25^th and July 16^th). The approach we have to take this year is not an easy one and the rationale and various nuances that come into play will be explained more in-depth at the Pre-Voting Assembly meeting to give everyone more time to digest and think and pray about this proposed budget.

Related to the budget, I have to say that I am blown away by the generosity and ministry-hearts of all of you here at Immanuel. There have been several extremely generous gifts given as of late. To look at the budget narrative that was in last week’s update, the significant rise of general offerings over the past year is a testimony to how the Lord is working in all of our lives – letting His grace and love abound, helping all of us to keep growing in gratitude and generosity, and experiencing more and more of the full and free life we can know as we trust in Jesus!

The Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) studies are underway. We have the school study which is helping us take a closer look at the demographics of northern Colorado, the school populations of our public, charter, private, and Christian schools, and at our own school ministry with what opportunities and ideas are before us. We have the Land-Use study, which is helping us prayerfully and thoughtfully consider how we might develop and utilize our land for specific ministry uses. And, because of the many questions and requests that have been raised in the process so far, we’ve just engaged LCEF with a third study, which will complement the other two, that will be looking specifically at our church ministry, including congregational leadership and governance, our mission and ministry programs, our financial systems, our facility and grounds, and assist with strategic planning. If you have not yet participated in the survey, please take 5 minutes to do that – the link is again in today’s update. And stay tuned for more information as to ways you can be involved in these studies. We are at an exciting juncture in ministry here at Immanuel!

Pastor Robin, Miss Emma, Kathy, and I had an initial meeting earlier this week to evaluate some ministries of this past year, and the wheels are already turning for some changes and even some new ministries for the next school year, including fun outreach events, intergenerational events, discipleship opportunities, ways for us to grow as individuals, as family units, and as a congregation and school. Much more to come on this front, so keep watching for more info.

Immanuel is an amazing place to be and I’m thankful for all of you. Ministry is about sharing the life-giving, life-changing, hope-infusing message of the Gospel – and that happens as we let Jesus take hold of our lives and lean into Him through faith and trust. It happens as we live the Gospel every day and impact the lives of the people all around us. I’m excited for what lies directly ahead as well as what’s coming in the next year. Thanks for calling Immanuel your home!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! I personally enjoyed our 6-week journey through the book of Revelation this Easter season. It’s been helpful for me to dig deeper into what this amazing and powerful vision from the Lord entails. As those first century followers of Jesus were undergoing horrific persecution for their faith in Jesus, this vision was shared with them to give them hope. As this vision was obviously written for and intended not just for those early believers but for the entire Church throughout the ages, which includes you and me as God’s Church here in the 21^st century, my prayer throughout this series has been that it brings to each of us a word of hope.

We are all going through various challenges, struggles, and heartache in our lives. Living as broken people in this broken world, we were warned that there would be no lack of trouble. But our risen Savior invites us to “Come!” He stands every day with open arms, inviting us to come to Him with whatever is going on in our lives and in our world. He stands ready to speak His words of comfort, peace, strength, and hope into whatever our situation. Take Him up on that invitation – there’s nothing too small and nothing too big. He loves you and has promised us an eternity beyond our wildest imaginations. And until we get there, He’s assured us that He will be right by our side every step of the way.

Re-read the conclusion of Revelation (22:12-21) and let these words from Jesus Himself bring you hope in the victory that He has won for us.

What Now?

Let “Come, Lord Jesus” be on your lips all week long. Pray this short prayer when you first wake up, at mealtimes, when you go to bed, when you hear troubling news reports, etc. Let it be an ongoing prayer of hope and victory!

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Serving together in Christ alone!

Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Now that we’re past Memorial Day weekend and we’ve hit the unofficial start to summer, let me offer a few words of encouragement as we head into these summer months.

One of the first things that comes to mind for me when summer is mentioned is “vacation.” I hope you are all able to take some time for yourselves or with family or friends to enjoy time together – whether it’s an actual vacation or perhaps a “stay-cation.” But don’t let these summer months be a time of vacation from your faith! Let worship continue to be part of your faith-walk, week-in and week-out, especially with Outdoor Worship beginning in July. Make sure and invite family and friends who visit you from out-of-town to join you for worship on Sunday mornings here at Immanuel.

Stay regularly in the Word. While we take a short break during the summer with our Sunday morning education opportunities (to let all of our teachers and Bible study leaders refresh themselves), stay connected with some of our many other small group options during the week – there are many to choose from, or you can gab a couple of friends and start a new small group or Bible study! If you need help, tap Pastor Robin (rdugall@ImmanuelLoveland.org) and he’d be happy to provide some ideas, resources, and support for you!

Keep up your own devotional life – as I mentioned in this week’s What Now?, try to spend time each day in God’s Word and let Him speak His love, His promises, and His hope into your life. If you’re not in the habit, take advantage of Immanuel’s Bring It Home devotions that are an insert each week in the Sunday bulletin. If you miss them, you can find them on our website (https://immanuelloveland.org/bring-it-home/). Did you know you can also receive them by email in your inbox every morning? If you’d like to get on that email group, send a request to ChurchOffice@ImmanuelLoveland.org and we’ll get you added! There are also many other wonderful daily devotional materials online, including devotional thoughts Pastor Robin writes on his Facebook page every day!

Let prayer be another part of your daily life of following Jesus. There will be something in this coming Sunday’s What Now? for you to consider along these very lines! You are also welcome to be part of my Prayer Warriors email group, as I send out prayer requests most every day. If you’d like to be part of this prayer group, just email me and I’ll get you added! But keep those lines of communication open with the Lord throughout the course of every day, with both formal and informal prayers.

Finally, stay involved. When you are in town, engage with the many opportunities to serve the Lord together here at Immanuel that are available. We’ve got the Car Show and Vacation Bible School as our two biggies for the summer. Coming up will be opportunities to serve our friends at Lago Vista with gathering school supplies for backpacks. And each week you’ll find more ways in these email updates that you can serve the Lord as we serve those around us. And of course you’re not limited to what happens at Immanuel. Opportunities to serve others with Christ’s love and hospitality are all around us – your neighbors, co-workers, sports teams, walking or workout buddies, friends, and so many others, as well as many other ministries throughout our community that serve others in need.

As we’ve been reminded throughout our Revelation series, we are part of something much bigger than ourselves – and what a blessing that can be as we realize that beautiful promise and live it out every day. Be assured that we are loved, we are never alone, we are forgiven, and we live under the grace of our risen Lord, Savior, and King!

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! I hope all of you had a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day. Even though we’re past Memorial Day weekend, I encourage you to take time today and in the week ahead to give thanks for all our military personnel who have given their lives in service to our country for the freedoms we enjoy. It’s a holiday for us to remember and I would encourage offering prayers of gratitude for the sacrifice of those men and women and prayers of comfort and peace for their families. It’s an appropriate weekend to also remember, give thanks for, and to pray for all those who are veterans as well as those in active duty who are serving in any capacity in all the branches of the armed forces – prayers of thanks for their service and for safety and protection as they carry out their duties, missions, and responsibilities here and around the world. I’m also sharing this beautiful rendition of “God Bless the U.S.A.” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFt9D6ZIjOQ. We certainly have much for which to be thankful!!

On another note, thank you for the many of you who have responded and given your thoughts regarding the combined worship services we have occasionally. I’ve appreciated your many thoughtful responses and ideas. Please know that there is no plan right now to make any drastic changes to our worship schedule. I took the occasion to invite your feedback as we do some evaluation with what happens in worship and if there are additional adjustments that may be worth considering. If you have not yet responded to that, I would still welcome your thoughts – just email me by Sunday, June 1^st. Thank you!

On a final note, I want to share just a couple of additional thoughts from the end of Revelation 21 and the beginning of Revelation 22. On Sunday I focused on the richness of God’s Word as a whole – how what we are reading in Revelation is truly fulfillment of prophecy and the weaving together everything in His Word and throughout the course of time, from the very beginning of creation to the glories of the Church Triumphant that we are seeing in this vision from the Lord. The God we serve is beyond amazing – and certainly more than worthy of all our praise!

I’d invite you to read once again all of Revelation 21 through Revelation 22:5 and as you do, have your eyes and ears open to just how glorious and beautiful the Lord describes what is to come. It truly will be Paradise restored and the Garden made new again. From all the precious stones to the streets of gold, to the assurances that in this new heavens and new earth we will have nothing to fear, it will be glorious! The vision of the Church (with all the references to the #12, numerology for “the Church”) as the “Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:5 and 21:10), as this vast and impregnable fortress with the assurance that nothing sinful, evil, impure, or malicious will be there, is a powerful picture that is filled with promise and with hope. As we take that vision to heart, we can know what is coming for all who believe in Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! As I’ve been saying throughout this series, let that vision of eternity give you encouragement and hope with whatever struggles or challenges you may be going through right now.

And here is this week’s What Now? for you to consider:

What Now?

God’s Word is such a gift to us! From beginning to end, it is one grand narrative – God’s Story – that points us so clearly to Jesus. Treasure God’s Word this week and the presence of Jesus, the Word-made-flesh, in your life, by spending time each day reading, listening, and praying, letting God through His Word speak to you.

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Serving together in Christ alone!

Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! I’m still basking in the glow of Sunday’s time of worship together and, throughout this week, I’ve been reflecting with some other staff members about it. I’ve heard several comments about how we should have just a single, combined worship service more often. And at the same time, after the worship service was over, I caught up with and spoke to some families who have been recently visiting with us who were out-of-the-loop and came at the normal 10:30 time for worship only to discover they had missed it.

With that introduction, I want to open the door to hear more from all of you on this topic. I’m going to share some of the pros and cons that I recognize,  and then would ask all of you to give me some feedback.

I want to start with the positives because all of our combined single services over the last several years have been so energy-filled. And that’s one of the first pros – with one service, we bring both Classic Grace and Contemporary Joy worshipers together. A relatively full sanctuary means full-voice responses in the Call to Worship, prayer responses, and more. It means the singing is more robust. It can enhance the sense of community and togetherness. There is a beautiful “cross-pollination” that occurs, allowing people who typically attend different services get to see each other and worship together. It was awesome having so many children gathered together up front for the children’s message.

When it comes to the cons, here are some of the challenges that come with a combined worship service. The biggest challenge is communicating the change in time. We try our best to do that through my email updates, the website, announcement screens, and text messages. But not all our visitors or even regular worshipers are in our database to receive these reminders, and even some who do still miss the time change. Every time we’ve had a single service, there have been people I know who have missed it. The difficulty of this is it can create a “club mentality” – not intentionally but as a by-product. If you’re not on the “inside,” you miss out.

Another con is trying to accommodate the different musical tastes, as we are a congregation that utilizes two different styles of music consistently each week. While Kathy does a great job of incorporating some contemporary or modern music into Classic Grace, as well as incorporating traditional hymns into Contemporary Joy, having both together presents a real challenge. What music can we use in worship that both can sing and appreciate? How much organ gets used, or drums, guitars, and keyboard, or just piano? Kathy recognizes the importance of differing “heart languages” when it comes to music and what speaks to different people, and she works hard on a weekly basis with the two services, as well as when we have a single service, to be sensitive to that with the selection of music.
Having more single services creates another challenge with the time-factor. Typically, we do not have Education Hour Sunday School or Bible study classes on single-service Sundays. If we had more single services, we would need to figure out when Education Hour would be, either before or after the worship service. And, finally, a con that is not a con just yet (but we’re not far from it) is that people like their space in worship. How do you feel about that—would you prefer to have a full sanctuary, even if it means it may feel crowded, or would you prefer a little more space around you? Let us know!

I’m guessing that many of you could add to this list of both pros and cons – and I would ask you to do just that! Both our Worship Planning Team and our staff will be doing an intentional and broad evaluation of these single services, discussing whether or not to continue them and, if so, whether to consider adding more of them to the worship schedule. As a reminder, this past year we had three combined worship services--a single service the Sunday after Labor Day weekend at the conclusion of outdoor worship before beginning our regular Fall Schedule, a single service the Sunday between Christmas and New Years, and this last one which took place on Confirmation Sunday, right before the start of our summer schedule.

The Worship Planning Team and I would greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts about this – both pros and cons. We are open to considering making changes to what we currently do, with either more or less of these combined services. Your voice is important to us. Please email your feedback, input, ideas, pros, cons, and other thoughts to me (gschlecht@immanuelloveland.org), by June 1^st so we receive your comment ahead of our next Worship Planning Team meeting. Thank you in advance for your responses!

In the meantime, don’t forget the change in worship times THIS Sunday, as we transition to our summer worship schedule of 8:00am and 9:30am, both indoors, through the month of June.

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Yesterday was such a fun and glorious day as we worshiped together in one service and, as part of that day celebrated 5 of our youth who confirmed their faith in Jesus! From Revelation 21, we thought deeply about “a new heaven and a new earth,” and how God tells us, “I am making everything new!” It’s important for us to realize that God provides this vision for us of what is still to come when Jesus returns again, but also how He is very much at work right here and now. His work of restoring, re-creating, forgiving, and saving is definitely part of God’s ongoing work of “making everything new.”

As we talked about on Sunday, God is not and will not be making everything “brand new,” but He is restoring everything and making everything new again – that’s the meaning of the word John used when he recorded this part of the vision he was given. That’s what St. Paul was referring to in Romans 8:18-22 in reference to all of creation waiting in anticipation of this coming new heavens and new earth. And that new heavens and new earth will be accompanied by the promises of Revelation 21:4, where “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.”

Part of the beautiful mystery of this life in Christ is that even now we get glimpses of the wonders and the glory that is coming. Even though we live and have to deal with the realities of the brokenness and messiness of life—the heartaches, the struggles, the difficulties that we all face—this life is not intended to be all doom and gloom! Those glimpses we catch of what is coming include glimpses of God’s grace, God’s miracles, His comfort, peace, strength, and so much more – and God is even here to wipe the tears from our eyes right now! Take that to heart and let the Lord bring you the encouragement you need in these days.

Part of this time of the year includes lots of new starts, new beginnings, new seasons of life. Kathy and I were able to enjoy a number of open houses for confirmations and graduations this weekend with more coming next weekend. What a joy it is to celebrate with these young people and their families the accomplishments they’ve achieved. They are looking ahead at transitions and new opportunities, with some excitement, some anxiousness, some uncertainties with all the “new” that is coming their way – be it moving into high school, into college, into the military, into a trade or a new career. And these changes impact not just these young people but their entire families – parents, siblings, and grandparents. And so we pray for these young people as we celebrate what God is doing in their lives and with all that is yet to come.

Check out a couple of things below. I’ve included the What Now? from yesterday for you to include in your thinking and living out this coming week. There are also several pictures of our five youth who confirmed their faith, including the processional at the start of worship, when their parents gathered around them promising to continue to pray for them and walk with them, placing the red stoles around their necks, and a couple pictures of the group. Our confirmands this year include Camden Hanft, Bella Odegaard, Brody Roberts, Sarah Speidel, and Tristan Stull.

What Now?

Let the Lord’s promise of “a new heaven and a new earth,” along with that time when “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” be an encouragement to you with any challenges or heartache you may face, to remind you of the hope we have in Jesus.

One last item. A Zoom call is set up for later this afternoon with representatives from the Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) Loan Resolution group to meet with our leaders and anyone who is interested from Immanuel to speak to us about restructuring our current mortgage debt. The meeting will be held here at Immanuel, Monday, May 19^th in room 112 starting at 5:00pm, or it can be accessed by clicking on this Zoom meeting link – https://lcef.zoom.us/j/81588581905?pwd=k20aSjmBLKMF2kh1YiExnPxk0yzRYT.1&from=addon (Meeting ID: 815 8858 1905; Passcode: 359040).

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen