Fifth Sunday in Lent
Holy Communion at 8:30 and 11am


Prayer of the Day
O God, with steadfast love you draw us to yourself, and in mercy you receive our prayers. Strengthen us to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, that through life and death we may live in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Scripture readings
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-12
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33

Sermon 
"Looking for Christ in All the Wrong Places"
John 12:20-33
The out-of-towners are curious. In the midst of the festival celebration and in the wake of the chaotic, triumphal entry, these foreigners wish to see Jesus. They make their request to Philip, who relays it to Jesus. And then a curious thing happens; rather than inviting them into his presence, Jesus refuses to meet the Greeks. Is it because Jesus is disinterested? Uncaring? No. Instead of meeting them, Jesus proclaims that he will soon  be glorified upon the cross. You wish to see Jesus? Look not in places of honor or glory. Look to the cross. Look to the grave. Look into death itself, and see new life emerging.

Hymns

In our prayers we remember ELCA World Hunger.

Education hour at 9:45am

Sunday School, Pre-Confirmation and 8th grade Confirmation classes meet  in their usual classrooms; 7th grade confirmands meet with their mentors.  Teen Talk meets in the Youth Room. 

Download the 2017-2018 Sunday School and Confirmation Schedule.

Adult Education

March 18 and 25
Frankenstein at 200: Remaining Human in a Post-Human World
Dr. Christina Bieber-Lake, Clyde S. Kilby Professor of English at Wheaton College
In 1818 a nineteen-year-old woman named Mary Shelley invented a new genre that would become known as science fiction. At the heart of her tale was a character so arrogant and destructive that his name has become synonymous with the monster he created. But in the 200 years since the publication of Frankenstein, have we learned anything? In the first session we will investigate how Victor Frankenstein’s sins continue to propagate in our culture today. in the second we will discuss how to remain human in a post-human world.   In the Seminar Room. 

March 11 and 18
Questions We're Afraid to Ask
Gordon Straw, Associate Professor and Cornelsen Chair of Spiritual Formation and Coordinator of Candidacy, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
This conversational, participant-driven series will explore the nature of theology, why everyone is a theologian, and the "rules" of theology. This is an opportunity to ask those questions you might feel you should already know the "correct" answer to: What does it mean to be incarnated (in birth or death)? Can I have doubts? What about miracles? What if my prayers "don't work"? Do better people have more prosperous lives? Where do we go when we die? What is heaven? What is hell?    In the 7th grade/German classroom.

The Sunday morning Bible study group meets in the lower-level conference room.

The Grace Church Library is open and staffed on Sundays from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Look for books related to Adult Ed topics as well as many other subjects. The library is also open for self-service during the week.


Download the Winter 2018 Adult Ed schedule.