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


Prayer of the Day
O God, rich in mercy, by the humiliation of your Son you lifted up this fallen world and rescued us from the hopelessness of death. Lead us into your light, that all our deeds may reflect your love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Scripture readings
Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 107:1-3, Psalm 107:17-22
Ephesians 2:1-10
John 3:14-21

Sermon
How could such a horrible means of torture and death become the central act of salvation in God’s grand plan? How could the unbearable pain and anguish of such a death become the single most life-giving and purpose-giving moment for a brand new group of brothers and sisters in faith? How could a crude and cruel instrument become chief among the symbols used to adorn worship spaces for over 2,000 years? It is foolishness!
 
But God loved the world so much that he gave up his only Son, God’s whole self, to the foolishness of the world so that everyone who believed would not die but have eternal life. The power of God, in all its foolishness, is the power to save lives.

Hymns

In our prayers we remember the ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod, which supports Lutheran congregations and parishioners in the Chicago area.

Education hour at 9:45am

Sunday School, Pre-Confirmation and Confirmation classes meet  in their usual classrooms.  Teen Talk meets in the Youth Room. 

Download the 2017-2018 Sunday School and Confirmation Schedule.

Adult Education

March 4 and 11
Ruth and Esther: Faith in Action
Dr. Michael Graves, Armerding Professor of Biblical Studies, Wheaton College
March 11: Esther is a sensational narrative filled with extreme dangers and dramatic reversals. What does Esther have to say about what people should value, and how they should act? Where is God in this narrative? We will discuss these questions in the book of Esther and in our world today.  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.