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


Prayer of the Day
Holy God, through your Son you have called us to live faithfully and act courageously. Keep us steadfast in your covenant of grace, and teach us the wisdom that comes only 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
Exodus 20:1-17
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
John 2:13-22

Sermon
"Out with the Old, In with the Foolish"
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, John 2:13-22
Here in the middle of Lent, solemnity has taken hold of our spiritual lives. We focus on our sin and our need to repent. We march toward the dark hours of Holy Week and Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross. It’s all so heavy, and that has its place. Our readings today, however, push back against the notion that the Lenten pilgrimage is a forced march. Instead we are reminded that the slogging path has reached its end through the divine lark of foolish grace. Out with the bloody sacrifice and our need to atone; out with the reminders that we have failed; out with our need to understand God’s foolishness. Jesus has upended it all. He lets it put him to death, and then he comes back. What a strange, foolish story. So today, right in the middle of Lent, let out a laugh as we celebrate God’s foolish, saving ways.

Hymns

In our prayers we remember the Selian Lutheran Hospital, a semi-urban hospital of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania.

Education hour at 9:45am

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

Adult Education

March 4 and 11
Ruth and Esther: Faith in Action
Dr. Michael Graves, Armerding Professor of Biblical Studies, Wheaton College
March 4: Ruth is a carefully crafted short story in which characters move from tragedy to redemption. God’s faithful love motivates people to act with faithful love toward one another, which spreads from person to person until everything turns out right. We will focus on key dialogues in the book of Ruth and the text’s ethical meaning.  In the Seminar Room. 

February 25 and March 4
Living Faithfully, Dying Faithfully
Pastor Dave Lyle; Sue Ames, Parish Nurse
Faithful living includes being prepared financially, legally and spiritually for the end of life. These two sessions offer a guide to thinking about important issues and questions, with love and feeling, well ahead of time.  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 2017-2018 Sunday School and Confirmation Schedule.
Download the Winter 2018 Adult Ed schedule.