DISCOVER MORE : TOGETHER
Our weekly devotional content ties back to the worship themes and scriptures from the previous Sunday. Dig deeper into what the Word and the message mean to you, and explore how you can deepen your walk with Christ through these resources.
In addition to the devotional resources, the "5 Minutes with God" sections are like spiritual snacks; small, quick, easy connections you can make as you go about your busy life.
Fall Worship & Study Series
I BELIEVE ...
Our Fall Worship Series, I Believe, will closely examine The “I believe in the …” statements of the Apostles’ Creed that we say each week in traditional worship.
This 9-week study (in three, 3-week segments) will take you behind the words so you can better understand where they come from and to give you more meaning when we recite it together.
You can pick up a printed study guide at the church, or use the digital version linked below. To go deeper with a discussion group, find one that fits your schedule at the link below.
Weekly Devotion
9-28-25
Life in the Savior: Who is Jesus for Me?
The Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed: Redemption
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary,
Luther’s Explanation: What does this mean?
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also a true human being, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord.
Pr. Steve’s Introduction:
The first part of the creed on Jesus describes what God does at Christmas. God becomes human in Jesus. The message of the angels to shepherds becomes the confession of the Creed: This baby is Christ the Lord.
Who is Jesus for me? Luther answers: Jesus is my Lord. Next week we will look at what Jesus did on the cross and how Jesus is Lord because he saves me, makes available God’s grace for me.
This week, we look more closely at who Jesus is for me. When we confess that Jesus is both true God and a true human being, the creed brings two realities together. One: Jesus was a human being who suffered a real death. Two: Jesus is the very presence of God, who suffered, was crucified, died and was buried. Jesus doesn't just talk about God, but God is fully present in Jesus.
We say we have life in the name of Jesus—this human being Jesus is the very presence of God offering eternal life. That is why we say “my Lord.” The word “my” points to a relationship of faith and trust in Jesus, as the one who saves me. I build my faith upon the foundation of Jesus as my Lord.
Hebrews 1:1-3a
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.
John 5:16-27
Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he was doing such things on the Sabbath. 17But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, and I also am working.” 18For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the Sabbath but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.
19Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own but only what he sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. 20The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. 21Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. 22The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, 23so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
24Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come under judgment but has passed from death to life. 25“Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, 27and he has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man.”
Opening Discovery
1. What do you like about the Christmas celebration?
How is it meaningful to you?
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2. Reflect back on the Gospel stories: How are these confessions a kind of work in progress, combining both understanding and a lack of understanding.
Matthew 16:16—Peter. Notice what happens next.
John 4:29—Women at the well. Dawning awareness.
John 20:28—Thomas. Climax of the Gospel: “My Lord and My God.” Believing Thomas comes after doubting Thomas.
3. “Jesus is Lord” points in two directions. One direction points towards God, the inner relationship between Jesus and the God the Father. Jesus is both a human being and the very presence of God. When you think of Christ, do you tend to focus on the humanity of Jesus or the divinity of Jesus? Why?
4. The second direction of “Jesus is Lord” has to do with who Jesus is for me, that is “my Lord.” Are there stories of Jesus that draw you closer to this sense of “my Lord.”
5. Follow-up question: Which stories of Jesus are most important to you? Do they speak more to the humanity
or divinity of Jesus?
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6. When did Jesus become Lord for you? What or how did the shift happen from Jesus being a figure of history to Jesus being important for your faith?
7. Who is Jesus for you?
8. Is this easy to share with others or hard? Why is that so? What is hard about sharing “Jesus is my Lord,” whether with friends, families, or others?
Weekly Devotion
9-21-25
Life in Creation: God Our Protector
The First Article of the Apostles’ Creed: On Creation I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
Luther’s Explanation to the First Article: God our Protector God protects me against all danger and shields and preserves me from all evil. And all this is done out of pure, fatherly, and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness of mine at all! For all of this I owe it to God to thank and praise, serve and obey him. This is most certainly true.
Pr. Steve’s Introduction: Does God truly protect or not? When there is suffering in the world, how can we confess God is our protector? How do we perceive God’s goodness and mercy when bad things happen? Luther said in moments of doubt, we should go to the cross, where God joined us in suffering, and then revealed God’s deeper purpose for love and life in the resurrection. As Paul writes in Romans: “Nothing shall separate us from the love of God.” At the cross, we confess God does protect and preserve. At the cross, we see through the fog of current events to affirm God’s love and provision. The Lord’s prayer offers how God provides and protects—offering bread, forgiveness, protection, deliverance in times of need.
God cares for us in life and in creation. We experience God’s abundance and provision in so many ways. What we learn is that God’s care is wide and generous, based on God’s love for the world. God’s care is not conditional. We don’t earn our way to blessing. Blessings come because it is the nature of God to create, provide, bless, and bestow. What does the life of faith look like in response? We thank, praise, serve, obey God. We live with love and trust towards God, generosity and thanks in response to what God provides, kindness and mercy toward others in the world God made.
Isaiah 40:21-22, 25-26, 28-31
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is (God) who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them like a tent to live in.
To whom, then, will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
(God) who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name; because he is great in
strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted,
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Matthew 6:7-13
“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray, then, in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be revered as holy.
May your kingdom come.
May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.
Discussion Questions
Opening Discovery
1. What is a story of God’s deliverance or rescue in your life? How has God protected or shielded you?
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2. Isaiah 40 is written to a people who have been in exile in Babylon for 60 years. They thought God had forgotten them.
Look again at the passage and underline 1-2 areas where the prophet is saying God has not forgotten you. How does that speak to you?
3. Isaiah 40 makes this argument: Yes, our individual lives have their ups and downs, but in the bigger scheme of things, God is in charge, God will prevail, and you can rely on God. How does that make you feel?
4. One way of studying the Lord’s Prayer is to notice how the petitions come not from a position of strength, but of need. Look again at each line (petition) of the prayer. Take your time as a group on this.
a. What is the need implied? It can be something outside us in the world. The need can also be a shortcoming within.
b. What is the promise about God offered?
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5. Sometimes we don’t like God’s unconditional generosity in creation, because sometimes the unjust are blessed. In the Lord’s Prayer, for daily bread, Luther writes, “God provides daily bread to all people, though sinful….” How is Gods generosity a good thing or something hard to accept?
6. How does the story of God sharing in our suffering on the cross on the way to Easter provide hope for you in troubled times?
7. Do you believe there is a limit to evil in the world because of God’s love, or does it feel like evil has the upper hand? What gives you hope in troubled times?
8. The creed describes both who God is for us in creation AND who we are as human beings, created in the image of God. What are specific ways you do each of the following?
a. Thank God—live in gratitude
b. Praise God—enjoy God
c. Serve God—by serving the neighbor
d. Obey God—live accountable to God
