Begins January 11

First Century Stewardship— This Bible study dives into some basic truths about a Christian's stewardship of his or her time and talents. It contains encouragement from 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 to be faithful, committed, joyful stewards of all that our God has given us. It will be a great way to start the New Year as we respond to God's greatest gift at Christmas! This study covers the following topics: What Is Christian Stewardship? Stewardship Encouragement, Stewardship Leadership, and Stewardship Blessings. First Century Stewardship will meet Sundays at 9:15 AM in the sanctuary.  

Begins Feb 18

Lord Have Mercy—It is one of the most common prayers of God’s child. “Lord, have mercy!” Mercy is the withholding of punishment or negative consequences that a guilty person deserves. Thus, when we pray, “Lord, have mercy,” 1) we are acknowledging that we have lived in ways deserving of God’s condemnation and punishment, and 2) we are begging God to not condemn or punish us. How important is that prayer? If you cannot say it with sincerity, you cannot be saved. For if you cannot speak that prayer, you cannot possibly believe you need a Savior. Therefore, God gave us his law, in part, so that we would see our need for mercy. St. Paul writes, “I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law” (Romans 7:7). And God gave us the gospel that we might know he has shown us mercy.

Thus, it is good and right that in this solemn season of Lent, we would review God’s law as revealed in the Ten Commandments and connect it with Christ’s passion. We will how we have shattered all the Commandments and are deserving of punishment. However, we will also see how Jesus took the suffering we deserved upon himself. Seeing both, may the Spirit empower us to pray, “Lord, have mercy!” and confidently believe that in Christ, we have God’s mercy in inexhaustible abundance.