Friends of Immanuel,

Kingdom People Forgive – I can’t state it any plainer than that. No, it’s almost never easy but that is who we are and what we do as Kingdom People. In my sermon yesterday on this important and challenging topic, I tried to paint the bigger picture of God’s grace (our starting point and the foundation on which we stand always being Jesus!), and how we are Spirit-empowered to do what the world doesn’t understand, what the world does not expect, and in many ways, doing what the world cannot do. I’ve heard multiple stories over the years of forgiveness that has been given that just blows me away – not being able to understand how someone could offer forgiveness in situations such as the murder of a spouse or child.

I’ve mentioned the last two Sundays that forgiveness requires nothing of the person we are forgiving and that the person we forgive may not even know about it. Ideally, both parties would be involved – forgiveness would be asked for, forgiveness would be given, and the relationship restored. But at a very base level, forgiveness has to do with what’s going on in my heart and in my head. A definition of forgiveness is this – “an intentional decision to let go of resentment or anger.”

There are times when I’ve been hurt by someone, but that person doesn’t have a clue that they did anything wrong or hurtful. It wasn’t malicious or mean-spirited – it may have come out wrong or I heard it in a way that wasn’t intended. But in those cases, I’m the one who’s walking around with this hurt in my heart, perhaps anger or, at the very least, having less-than-good feelings toward that person for what was said or done. Whether or not I forgive that person will have no bearing on him at all – it’ll make no difference whatsoever. But not forgiving that person will have a detrimental effect on me. In this case, forgiveness is a choice I have to make – am I going to let this hurt continue to damage my relationship with that person, continue to cause anger or bitterness in my heart? Or am I willing to forgive, to put that hurt to the side and let it go, not carrying that weight inside of me? We have choices to make.

The other piece I want to touch on is how harshly it seems that Jesus ends His story. Matthew 18:34-35 – “In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. ‘This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’” What Jesus was expressing was how critical forgiveness is when it comes to our relationships, including our relationship with the Lord. This is not new news – Jesus says the same thing when He gave us the Lord’s Prayer. Think about it. What do we say with regard to forgiveness? “Forgive us our trespasses… AS WE FORGIVE those who trespass against us.” Yes, there is some convicting Law going on here, because our Lord knows how hard it is for us, humanly speaking, to forgive others who have hurt us. But it has to happen – it’s part of our restoration, part of the health of our relationships, including our relationship with the Lord.

I’ll end this heavy article with a reminder of the amazing grace our Lord has shown us. Our King (from Jesus’ story in Matthew 18:22-34), has had mercy on us and shown us grace beyond what we can calculate and certainly beyond what we deserve. He’s forgiven our 10,000-bags-of-gold debt, a debt we had no hope of ever paying back. He’s taken us out from under that debt and He allows us to live lives that are free and full because of Jesus. And as much as we’ve been forgiven, He wants us to never lose that perspective – to remember the power of God’s grace in our lives. So then we can, in turn, share this amazing gift of grace and forgiveness with others in our lives.

Blessings as we strive, with the Holy Spirit’s help and power, toward those ends! And here’s this week’s What Now? that I hope you can work toward:

What Now?
Is there a lack of forgiveness weighing you down? If it is:

• Pray – for yourself and for the person you need to forgive or from whom you need forgiveness;
• Pray for humility, for wisdom, and for strength to confront or admit this need in your own heart;
• Pray for the ability to release the hurt.

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

As we kick-off the official beginning of the Education Hour, Sunday School classes, and new adult Bible classes, I thought it appropriate to have our Director of Discipleship and Connecting Ministries, Pastor Robin, share a few thoughts on the importance and value of learning and growing as followers of Jesus.
Pastor Glen

Shallowness and Depth and Adult Education @ Immanuel
Matthew 13:5 “And Jesus told them many things in parables...some seed fell where the soil is shallow because it’s on rocky ground.”

Here’s a biblical fact, the people listening to Jesus understood about shallow soil and stony ground. Much of the land in Israel is a foundation of rock that has a couple of inches of topsoil covering it. There’s so little dirt that, when a new plant’s roots start to sprout up, they are bound to hit rock right away. They have no chance to spread or flourish. Sound familiar? Jesus says it should!

We do have our rocks in our “soil,” don’t we? Have you ever wondered, what is Jesus getting at? I believe Jesus is saying something about the fact that spiritual growth requires soil that is deep. A good plant, crop, OR heart can be all that God created it to be if it can have some decent roots that can withstand the “rocks” of real life.

Question – Is your faith putting down deep roots, deep devotion? Which word characterizes your walk with Jesus – DEEP or SHALLOW? Richard Foster in his book, Celebration of Discipline, said, “Superficiality is the curse of this age.” It’s a shallow world filled with shallow relationships, superficial conversations, hurried moments of prayer, too much screen time, and superficial commitments which, in many respects, is the exact opposite of the call of Jesus to His disciples (that being, you and me!).

Make no mistake about it, Jesus is calling us to spiritual depth. He’s calling us to have an ever-present thankfulness and humility for the gift of grace/faith that saves us but also grows us to have a passionate desire to honor Jesus as Lord by doing what He commands by following Him as a disciple. Friends, Jesus calls us to a deep faith, not one where we rely on what we do, but where what we do reflects our desire and dedication to love as Jesus has loved us and to give as Jesus has given Himself for us. A deep faith is lived out in a willingness to investigate deeper, to enter discussions and learning opportunities freely and enthusiastically while plumbing the deeper areas of faith and life in Jesus.

I’ve seen it in many people’s lives over the years in the desire to be a life-long learner – those who aren’t growing, are dying. Those who aren’t willing to take on new things, are eventually going to have to deal with shriveled up hearts and won’t have the roots in faith that are deep enough to sustain life and growth, especially when the realities and trials of life come their way.

Where’s all this headed? Here’s my encouragement to you – be a life-long learner and grow! How do you do that? One of the many ways to sink your roots deeper into your walk with Jesus is to learn more about the scriptures, more about what the Bible teaches theologically, more about how to put your faith into practice. At Immanuel, we have a VERY specific way of addressing that desire in all of us through our Adult Education/Discipleship Training ministry. This coming week (Sunday, September 17^th at 9:30am), we are starting some new classes that Pastor Glen has highlighted in this Update. Look at them, pray over them, and seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance in how YOU can grow by being a part of one of these classes. Every one of these classes is a great opportunity to learn and grow in your faith!

If you ever have any questions about any of the Adult Education classes we are making available at Immanuel, feel free to contact me, rdugall@immanuelloveland.org. I’m happy to encourage you in any way I can to grow DEEPER in your faith!

Pastor Robin

Friends of Immanuel,
The numbers “9-11” have forever taken on new meaning since the events of 2001 in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Today is the 22^nd anniversary of the tragic events that led to almost 3000 people dying on U.S. soil. Moments of silence were observed by the NFL at the start of many of yesterday’s football games and I’ve heard there will be a time of remembrance at tonight’s game between two New York teams, the Bills and the Jets. Even these many years later there continue to be very strong emotions connected to the memories of this day.

Yesterday we started our new fall worship series, Kingdom People, and the question I’m asking you to consider today is this – does being Kingdom People make any difference on a day like today? Personally speaking, I hope it does. I would hope that we would have compassion for those personally and directly impacted by that day – those who lost loved ones, friends, co-workers; those who have been emotionally scarred or deal with PTSD; or those who are dealing with other lingering and ongoing physical, mental, or emotional issues. Take a few moments today to pray for those in these categories. If you do know someone impacted, take time today to reach out to them with a call, email, or text. What are the opportunities the Lord gives us to share His love, His compassion, His caring with others? Those opportunities come to us in big and small ways.

Yesterday we specifically talked about reconciliation – a very challenging issue in our lives. As I mentioned yesterday, the world we’re living in doesn’t, by and large, value reconciliation. In many ways it seems easier to put labels on people, put them in a box, demonize them, and just walk away. But as Kingdom People, we are called to work toward reconciliation, as hard or uncomfortable as it may be. Honestly, reconciliation may not happen or may not be possible in some situations – but that doesn’t take the onus off of us trying. I’m going to leave you with this week’s What Now? and encourage you with these basic things we can do as Kingdom People to strive toward reconciliation and healing and restored relationships.

What Now?
Is there an unreconciled relationship in your life? If so,

• Pray for yourself and the other party;
• Examine your own heart and your motives;
• Reach out to that individual and express your desire for reconciliation;
• If possible, meet to talk. If it would be helpful to have another person present, reach out to one of us on staff or to a Christian counselor for guidance and/or assistance.

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

As I’m finishing up today’s email update, I feel out of breath – and not just because I’m out of shape!! There are so many great things that are starting up in the coming weeks that it can take your breath away. There’s a lot of information below, so make sure and take time to at least scroll down and check out all the headlines.

Among the great things coming up, starting up, and continuing is Sunday morning worship! This Sunday we are beginning a brand new series – our fall series entitled, Kingdom People. Through our baptism into Christ, we have been made Kingdom People – and what a privilege that is! Being Kingdom People isn’t just about getting to go to heaven when we die. It’s about how we get to live our lives right here and now, which, believe it or not, isn’t all that different from how it will be in eternity.

Of course, on this side of eternity we still have to deal with sin and brokenness, pain and heartache, tears and mourning. But because of grace, we get to live differently. The ways we approach life as Kingdom People can sometimes seem upside down from the perspective of the world. That’s what we’ll be exploring throughout the fall – how life is different for us because we are Kingdom People.

I always look forward to worshiping together as a community of faith but I’m especially excited as we get back to our normal schedule and as we start our new series. I hope you can join me on Sunday! And invite a friend to join you…

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,
Some changes are happening, starting this Sunday, here at Immanuel! The big one is the schedule. This Sunday we’re back to our “regular” schedule of 8:00am Classic Grace worship, 9:30am-10:20am Education Hour, and 10:30am Contemporary Joy worship (returning indoors).

This Sunday during the Education Hour we will have our annual Ministry Fair – check out the articles in today’s update as well as those coming in Thursday’s update for lots more info on what to expect. It’s going to be pretty cool! Plan to attend and explore some of the many, many opportunities to be involved and engaged in what the Lord’s up to around here.

Over the summer we re-introduced greeting one another and welcoming each other to worship at the beginning of each of our worship services, a part of Sunday mornings that went away in March 2020. As we tried several different ways of including that in worship, I appreciate the feedback and suggestions that were given, and we plan to continue with this moving forward..

One other practice that was set aside in March 2020 is offering the Common Cup, along with individual cups, during the Lord’s Supper. We discussed this as a Worship Planning Team and with the Board of Elders and felt it was time to bring this back into practice. We will once again start offering the Common Cup this Sunday, September 10^th, in both services and will continue offering it moving forward.

For those who are unfamiliar with what I’m talking about, let me offer a brief explanation. Here at Immanuel the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is a central tenant of who we are as a Word and Sacrament Ministry. That means both God’s Word (the Bible as well as Jesus, the “Word made flesh”) and the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are foundational for our lives. It is here, in Word and Sacrament, that we receive the powerful gift of the Good News of Jesus that includes His love, grace, forgiveness of our sins, hope, and life. That is why we have most baptisms on Sunday mornings during worship and why we celebrate the Lord’s Supper at most all of our Sunday morning worship services – it’s who we are as God’s people and it’s what we need to live this life faithfully!

When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we strive to do it as Jesus instituted it. As Jesus did, we use unleavened bread and wine. With those two elements, we offer them in different forms. For the bread, we have actual baked cubes of unleavened bread that one of our members makes and bakes. We also offer wafers as well as a gluten-free option, both of which are unleavened.

For the wine, we have red wine (we use a port wine here at Immanuel) and we also offer a non-alcoholic white wine, which is wine that has had the alcohol removed, which is primarily for those who are on medication or who may have struggles with alcohol. We are returning to our pre-March 2020 practice of offering the wine not only in an individual cup but now with the common cup. As with the bread, these different options are perfectly legitimate and appropriate, aligning with how our Lord intended for us to receive his amazing, powerful, and grace-filled gifts.

For those who may wish to use the common cup, here is a suggestion to make it easier for you and for our communion servers. When you come to the common cup, firmly grasp the base of the cup with one hand and with your other hand on the side of the cup, guide it to your lips. This will remove the possibility of any static electricity and also help avoid spilling. After each person drinks from the common cup, the communion server has a cloth napkin that he uses to wipe the rim of the cup.

For many years the common cup was the only option for receiving the Lord’s Supper. It was a tangible reminder that we are all one together in Christ Jesus and is reflected in what St. Paul wrote about the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 10 and 11 when it comes to our unity in Jesus.

The options are available for both bread and wine, with the desire to remove any physical barriers or concerns individuals may have to receiving the Lord’s Supper. My prayer is that bringing back the option of the common cup will be a blessing to those desiring it! If you have questions, concerns, or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or to one of our Elders and we’ll be happy to talk with you more about this.

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,
This year’s school theme is, “I AM,” and our theme verse is Exodus 3:14a and 15b, which reads, “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM... This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.’” Every Thursday morning I have the opportunity to lead staff devotions and what I’ve been doing is having us think and reflect on the context leading up to the theme verse to help us better understand this year’s theme. What we reflected on today is something I’d like to share with all of you.

Today we looked at Exodus 3:5-6, which was truly a holy moment for Moses – ⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

What kinds of things come to mind when you think of “holy” or “holiness”? Think about that for a moment. A definition of “holy” that I use is that it is something set apart for a special purpose, something that is sacred. What are some of the “holy ground” moments in our lives today? A significant “holy ground” moment that came to mind for me is worship. When I asked the staff about this, they also felt like the Lord’s Supper and whenever we celebrate a baptism in worship are also holy moments.

What I encourage you to consider as we prepare to gather together for worship again in a couple days, is the holy moment that worship is. The almighty God, creator of the universe and everything in it, invites us to come to Him in our times of worship. Wow. He invites us to come just as we are, and we come into His very presence. Mysterious. Awe-inspiring. Wonderful.

We’re told that when Moses approached God in the burning bush, he “hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.” There’s a healthy tension with which we have to live as followers of Jesus and that tension is what we know of and how we relate to God. On the one hand, we know Him in Jesus – and in Jesus we see love, compassion, grace, our God who cared so much and loved so deeply that He came and took on the humanity of His own creation to be one with and one among us. In Jesus we have a God who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses and who understands the temptations we face and struggles we have because He faced them, too. (Hebrews 4:15) We can totally relate to a God like that, as culturally we use language like “personal Savior,” and “loving Father.”

The tension comes in what, I believe, we don’t think about as often – the almighty and powerful nature of our God, a God who is so far above and beyond us, who holds so much power and authority that we can’t even imagine it, much less think that we can stand in the presence of and survive. If we ponder those aspects of God’s nature, it can be downright fearful. Does God want us to be scared in His presence or to be fearful when we think about Him? Wwweeeelllll…. No, but a healthy fear of God is important when it comes to our relationship with Him. Our sin and brokenness have messed things up, including introducing a cavalier approach to God that we can so often take – not thinking seriously about what our sin has done to us and our relationship to God or about what it cost Him to restore that relationship.

We worship and serve a holy God, an almighty God, a loving God, a compassionate God, and on and on go the many traits and characteristics of God. What a gift we’ve been given to be called the children of God. What a privilege we have to trust in Him, knowing His faithfulness and love are real and they are ours. As you step into worship on Sunday, give thanks to God for His grace, His power, and His love!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,
As our summer worship series, Life in the Spirit: It’s Complicated, winds down, we tapped into another biggie yesterday – God’s Will. I mentioned that scripturally, talk about God’s will takes us in a number of different directions and that I was only able to realistically tap into two. I thought I would at least venture briefly into a couple more in today’s email update, for those who are interested in going further.

First, this idea or desire that I’ve heard and read in various books or study guides, about “being in the center of God’s will” – while this can be a laudable notion, what exactly does that mean? As I mentioned in my sermon, without a doubt or hesitation, my assumption is that all of us who are followers of Jesus want nothing more than to want what God wants and to fully align with God in every possible way. So we pray for our Lord’s guidance and direction, praying for His will to be done in our lives and for us to follow Him.

But I believe that an endeavor of trying to find the “center of God’s will” may yield more frustration, more guilt, and more disappointment than positive outcomes. The only specific clarity we have scripturally on God’s will is what I started with yesterday – 1 Timothy 2:3-4 where the Lord, through St. Paul, expresses God’s will and desire that everyone come to believe in Jesus, and then Peter’s Spirit-filled declaration in Matthew 16:16 that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Promised One, the Son of the living God. Our Savior’s desire and will is that everyone would respond as Peter did. In addition to that, we do receive a wide variety of examples of things we’re supposed to do that are God’s will, as well as things we are to avoid, which are also God’s will (in a sanctification-sense, that I had talked about). Beyond that, we hear references of God’s will and suffering, His “good, pleasing, and perfect will,” and a statement about making plans hoping for outcomes but only “if it is God’s will.” But what would be considered the “center” of God’s will? I don’t believe we can nail that down.

Instead of striving for that particular “marker,” I’d strongly suggest that we seek God’s will constantly in our lives – that we pray about decisions that are before us, asking Him to guide us toward what would be best, and then boldly step into those decisions, trusting our Lord’s promise of Romans 8:28 (“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”). The reality is, sometimes we may be right on target with decisions made but other times we’re way off base. And that’s where grace, forgiveness at times, and humility come into play. And I’ll say it again – it’s complicated!

The other interesting angle on God’s will that I’m only going to mention briefly is from 1 Peter 3:17 – “For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” Like the topic of “free will,” the topic of “suffering” can take us down a long, long (and very interesting!) road. But for today, suffice it to say that there are times when suffering comes into play in our lives, aligned with God’s will. Not that God creates suffering or ultimately delights in suffering, but that He can and will use suffering in this broken world and even as a blessing in our broken lives.

I hope this was of some help as we continue to walk by faith, putting our trust and our lives in our Savior as we journey day-by-day in His grace and love! Here is this week’s What Now? that I encourage you to consider putting to use this week:
God’s Will:

• Look for at least one opportunity to share with someone what Jesus means to you.
• Be thoughtful with regard to God’s will in your life this week when it comes to decisions and choices before you.

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,
Today’s email update is so jam-packed full of great stuff that I’m going to keep my article at a minimum. God is continuing to work in some pretty amazing ways – and I’m so thankful for the opportunities we have for fellowship, for learning and growing, for connecting with our Savior and with each other, and for reaching out to so many people in our community and beyond. I praise God for all of you who receive this email update and are a vital part of God’s work here at Immanuel.

The one specific thing I want to do today is to extend an invitation to my next Immanuel 101 class to anyone who is interested in finding out more about Immanuel, who we are, what we believe and teach, and why we do what we do. This is a class I teach every fall and again every late-winter/early-spring. My next class will be starting up on Sunday, September 17^th. If you or someone you know might be interested in attending this class (held on Sunday mornings during the Education Hour between worship services), just let me know. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have ahead of time. Immanuel 101 is also the path to take for anyone who may be interested in formally joining our congregation.

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen