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
10-19-25
Life in the Spirit: Making Belief Possible
The Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed: Redemption
I believe in the Holy Spirit…
Luther’s Small Catechism: What does this mean?
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.
Pr. Steve’s Introduction:
What does it mean to say, “I believe I cannot believe?” Faith is not an abstract or general faith in a divine being. Rather, faith is a personal relationship of trust in Jesus as my Lord. How does such a faith come about? Left on my own, I would never get there. This is why God comes to me through the Gospel message of forgiveness in Jesus that makes possible my response of trusting faith. And the response of faith itself is a sign of God Spirit at work in my life.
When it comes to faith, we confess what we pray. We turn to God in time of doubt and need, and we ask for guidance. We pray for faith. When faith and the gifts of wisdom and mercy are experienced, we thank God. There is no sense of God sitting in the heavens waiting for humans to believe, rather God takes an active present part in my life through the movement of God’s Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2You know that when you were gentiles you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 4Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, 5and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of powerful deeds, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
Discussion Questions
Opening Discovery
1. What Bible verses or stories of Jesus speak most to you and your faith? What do they say to you?
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2. What do you think Luther means when he says “I believe I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus, my Lord”? What is at stake here?
3. In Corinthians, Paul is talking about the church, which is both a human gathering of people with many abilities, and a gathering made possible by the Spirit. What does
the Spirit do in this passage? What does the Spirit give? Underline 2-3 phrases and discuss.
4. In the culture of Corinth, there was a tendency to make judgments of one another on the basis of gifts and abilities, some were better than others, or had greater prestige. How does the church as a creation of the Spirit change our perceptions of one another?
5. What would be the distinctions Paul would go after today in our church or our world?
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6. How has God been a part of your story of faith? What are the interventions, nudges, movements of the Holy Spirit in your story of faith?
7. For some, Luther’s explanation about the origins of faith in God raises a question: If someone is not a believer, who is at fault? Why is there unbelief?
a. Some would argue that it is the unbeliever’s fault. They are stubborn of heart and they will be judged unless they believe.
b. Luther offers another response. We don't know why someone does not believe. Unbelief is held in the mystery of God in the world. What we do know is that we are given the opportunity to pray and to witness. What we do know is that when faith shows up, we give thanks to God.
When it comes to friends or relatives who do not show an outward sign of faith, what do you do? How do you respond in prayer? In Witness?
Weekly Devotion
10-12-25
Life in the Savior: Why Does Jesus Matter?
The Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed: Redemption
On the third day (Jesus) rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
Luther’s Explanation: What does this mean?
What does this mean?
He has done all this in order that I may belong to him, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally.
Pr. Steve’s Introduction:
To confess Jesus is my Lord is to say that Jesus changes me. At the heart of the experience of faith is this: “Jesus sets me free.” There is freedom when I am forgiven. There is freedom to love and serve the neighbor. Luther had a very specific notion of freedom. To be freed in Christ means I am set free to be the human being God intended for me from creation. I am set free from the chains of sin, death, and the evil one.
The catechism spells out what this freedom in Christ looks like in terms of belonging, purpose, and identity.
+ Belonging: I experience belonging in Jesus. Faith is a life-giving relationship with Jesus.
+ Purpose: I experience purpose in Jesus: I participate in his kingdom. I orient my actions towards Jesus: what serves God’s purposes in life,
+ Identity: I am a forgiven child of God. I experience forgiveness in these ways: 1) being made right in God’s righteousness, 2) living with renewed innocence, 3) receiving God’s blessing.
The confession of “Jesus is my Lord” concludes with a confession of resurrection. Because Jesus lives, everything that Jesus is, and has done, and means for me can truly matter for me.
Colossians 1:11-20
May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, so that you may have all endurance and patience, joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, 16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
Opening Discovery
1. How are you different now from what you were in college or some younger time of life?
2. How are you the same person? (In both good and not so good ways!).
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Luther describes the ways Jesus changes me.
3. “That I may be his own”…I experience belonging in Jesus.
a. How is faith a life-giving, life-changing relationship with Jesus for you?
b. What does it mean to experience belonging in Jesus?
c. How does Paul’s notion of “the church as the body of Christ, and we are members of that body” relate here?
4. “Live under him in his kingdom”…I experience purpose in Jesus.
a. How does following Jesus give you a sense of purpose in life?
b. Here is where the teachings and example of Jesus come in….which teachings, parables, stories of Jesus speak most to you?
c. When is it challenging to live God’s purpose made known in Jesus?
5. “Serve Jesus in eternal righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.”…I am a forgiven child of God, I experience a new identity in Christ.
a. How does our identity in baptism connect to this?
b. What are elements in worship that support your experience of forgiveness?
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6. How are you different because you are a Christian? How does Jesus change you?
