On April 8 millions of people witnessed a total solar eclipse over the United States. An historical event, to be sure, but probably “life-changing” for only a few of those witnesses. But when Jesus rose from the dead, that was not only historical but “life-changing” for His disciples who saw Him in the flesh many times before He returned to heaven. And, their testimony has been life-changing for millions of others through the ages, who never had the opportunity to see Him in person. In this sermon, as in many, we’ll think about how. You can view, download, or print the text of this service by ..read more

This episode was recorded on Friday in Holy Week, March 29, 2024. We also know it as Good Friday - the day Jesus died on the cross. In this worship service we heard the whole story of His suffering and death from the Gospel according to Saint Luke, and spent some time thinking about what this story means for us - and also what it doesn’t mean. You can view, download, or print the text of this service by clicking the link below or by copying and pasting it into your browser:https://bit.ly/49bNCDy  #CTKLodiOhio #Lent #GoodFriday You can find and download this sermon as an episode of the ..read more

Today is Easter Sunday! On this day Christians say “The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!” When Jesus rose from the dead, His glorious body still bore the scars from the nails that pierced his hands and feet and nailed him to the cross. In the Forgiving Challenge earlier this year, we were reminded of the acronym “S.C.A.R.S.” that stands for Sin, Confession, Absolution, Restoration, and Sanctification. Good Friday (the day when Jesus was crucified) is the day of Absolution, when Jesus washed away all our sins with His death on the cross. Easter Sunday is the day of Restoration, because the em ..read more

When Jesus rose from the dead early on Easter Sunday, only Mary Magdalene saw him at the garden tomb. It wasn’t until the afternoon of that day that He showed Himself alive to two grieving disciples, and it wasn’t until the evening of that day that He showed Himself alive to the rest of the disciples - well, except for Thomas. It wasn’t until the next Sunday evening, when Jesus showed up to them again, that Thomas finally saw Him with his own eyes and believed the witness of the rest. You can view, download, or print the text of this service by clicking the link below or by copying and pasting ..read more

Today is Thursday in Holy Week. We also know it as Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday. “Maundy” comes from the same ancient word as “commandment.” It reminds us that on the night before His death on the cross, when Jesus ate the Passover meal with His disciples and transformed it into what we know as The Lord’s Supper, He commanded them to love one another and to celebrate this meal often through the ages, until He comes again in glory to take His people to heaven.  You can view, download, or print the text of this service by clicking the link below or by copying and pasting it into your br ..read more

We started the “Serving Challenge” with Saint Paul’s words in his letter to the Philippians, “have the same mind as Christ.” Now that we’ve talked about attitude, availability, action, and ability, there’s one last aspect of our serving we need to consider: ambition. So think about what you wanted to grow up to be when you were a kid. Was that just wishful thinking, and your life didn’t exactly turn out that way? Or was it an ambition, and you worked hard and with focus to make that childhood dream come true? And what if we said that Saint Paul’s words “have the same mind as Christ” was his am ..read more

When and how a person decides to serve another person, or a cause, depends on several things. Whether that person is agreeable to serving the other person, or cause, for instance - that’s Attitude. Whether he or she has enough time on their schedule, or money in their bank account - that’s Availability. What she or he ultimately decides to do - that’s Action. This week in the Serving Challenge we’ll think about Ability, and that asks us to consider quite a lot. What are you physically able to do? What’s your level of experience with the service you’re being asked to perform? What kinds of gift ..read more

“Serving Challenge” author Zach Zehnder notes in one of the lessons that the Gospels tell us that when Jesus saw the needs that people came to Him with, He not only had compassion on them, He also put that compassion into action by healing some, feeding some, cleansing some from leprosy, casting out some demons, raising some from the dead, and forgiving many. You or I might not have the divine power of Jesus to do many of the things He did, but we can still do something. What do you think that might that be? You can view, download, or print the text of this service by clicking the link below o ..read more

Have you ever heard the saying “80% of life is just showing up”? Woody Allen is supposed to have said that, but who knows how true it actually is. In our Serving Challenge focus this week, we’ll think about Availability - showing up! Or at least, being ready to show up when the need arises. And, spoiler alert for next week - being ready to take action when you show up. You can view, download, or print the text of this service by clicking the link below or by copying and pasting it into your browser:https://bit.ly/240225Worship In Lent (beginning Feb 14) our themes will be in the “Serving Chall ..read more

When you hear about someone living a “good” life, what do you think that means? That they were successful in business? Had a model family? Have enjoyed a lot of cool opportunities? When you hear someone “being holy”, what do you think that means? Praying a lot? Going to church a lot? Being somehow “other-worldly”? Instead of these, during the season of Lent this year we invite you to think about this statement: “The number one characteristic of a good and holy life is service to others - like Jesus did.” In today’s service, we’ll focus on Attitude. You can view, download, or print the text of ..read more