There is the type of fan who follows his team if they make the playoffs. Then there is the type of fan who, regardless of his team’s record, watches every game and knows the stats for every player. There are different types of followers: the half-hearted versus the committed. Jesus is uninterested in followers who pay attention to his Word and will only when their other pursuits provide the time. Jesus wants followers who are all in . . . who love him above all things . . . who would be willing to leave everything else behind if that were what it would take to be with him. We simply do not have it inside us to produce that level of commitment. But in the gospel, we see how Jesus went all in for our salvation. As we witness the way Jesus made our eternal happiness the focus of his undivided attention, the Spirit creates within us the very commitment that Christ seeks.

At the top of the list of things worthy of our undivided attention: God. That does not mean if we focus long and hard, we will understand all there is to know about God. That is impossible! For example, Scripture teaches that there is one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our reason objects, “How can three be one?” So, God’s very existence is a mystery, far beyond our ability to comprehend, no matter how long we ponder it. Yet, while we cannot understand everything about our God, he is still worthy of our undivided attention. For there is plenty about God’s majesty that we can understand. We can understand that God provides for us as a loving Father. We can understand how much God loves us, for that was proven in the sacrifice of God the Son. We can understand that every time we gather in the name of our Triune God, the Holy Spirit grants us the greatest of blessings. These truths are worthy of our undivided attention!

Jesus ascended into heaven. That does not mean the gospel has ceased to spread around the world. For Jesus promised to send another advocate to represent God to the world: the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the constant companion of believers in these Last Days. We conclude this worship series with this glorious thought: because he lives, Christ sends us his Spirit.

That raises some questions. Where? How? If God now reveals himself by his Spirit, where is the Holy Spirit found? How does he come to us? God has not left the answer to those questions in doubt. When Jesus promised to send the Spirit, he indicated that the Spirit’s work would be connected to words, specifically to God’s Word. As a result, we need never wonder where we can find the Spirit or how he comes to us. Where the Word is proclaimed, there you will find the Holy Spirit’s presence and blessing.

Welcome to worship today at Morrison Zion Lutheran Church. We exist to glorify God. We… read more

The word tenebrae means “darkness” and refers to a worship service in which the progressive extinguishing of candles represents the approaching death of Christ. The Tenebrae service is one of prolonged meditation of the suffering of Christ. The service is divided into seven chief parts. At the end of each part the sanctuary will become darker. At the end of the service, the church will be very dark. No offering will be taken during the service. As you leave in silence you may place your offering in the basket in the back of the church.

On Good Friday we remember the crucifixion and death of our Lord both with sorrow and solemn joy. Though the events of this day fill us with horror, the implications of those events give us every reason for praise. Jesus’ death had this breathtaking significance. Once and for all, it paid for the guild of all of us and for all of time. Standing in our place, our substitute was forsaken by his Father on the cross so that we could be reconciled to God and have an eternal home in heaven.

We look at Jesus on the cross, and there is sorrow. He is there because of us. He is there because he loves us that much, so much he gave us his last breath. Jesus took all our guilt into the tomb with him. It will stay there. He will not. That is why we can call this Friday good.
This year we will use a visual to help us contemplate the love of Jesus on the cross. All who wish to do so will be invited to come forward and place a nail in the cross on the main floor of church. The nail has a red ribbon attached to remind us that it was our sins that caused Jesus to shed his blood. This truth pains us. This truth causes us joy because Jesus’ life and death is the sacrifice that paid for the guilt of our sins and the sins of the whole world.

On Thursday of Holy Week, Jesus began to execute the terms of the New Covenant. This New Covenant replaced an old one and was fundamentally different from in it every way. While the Old Covenant was more like a contract, the New Covenant is more like a will. The old offers rewards in return for work; the new makes unconditional and lasting promises. The old will always leave us starving in our relationship with God; the new satisfies the deepest hunger of our soul.

This is precisely why Jesus connected this new covenant with a special meal. To an uninformed outsider, the Lord’s Supper looks like a poor snack—a bite of bread and sip of wine. But the followers of Christ understand that this holy food provides all the blessings of the new covenant.

This week we see how our Father makes the treasures of his house available to any and all. He places them in the last place we’d expect—the trash. In God’s family, the things the world prizes and pursues are counted as worthless. Conversely, what the world rejects and discards is considered priceless and worth pursuing.

The best example of this is Jesus Christ himself. The Father sent his greatest treasure—God the Son—to earth. And many considered Jesus to be a trash that needed to be taken out. . . a troublemaker that needed to be killed. In truth, Christ is the precious cornerstone that God used to build his house, the one with the open door.

This week we see how our Father makes the treasures of his house available to any and all. He places them in the last place we’d expect—the trash. In God’s family, the things the world prizes and pursues are counted as worthless. Conversely, what the world rejects and discards is considered priceless and worth pursuing.

The best example of this is Jesus Christ himself. The Father sent his greatest treasure—God the Son—to earth. And many considered Jesus to be a trash that needed to be taken out. . . a troublemaker that needed to be killed. In truth, Christ is the precious cornerstone that God used to build his house, the one with the open door.