Worship is an amazing gift God has given to us. As you look at the Scripture readings for this coming Sunday, you’ll notice that worship is not specifically talked about in any of them. What do we hear? I invite you to give some thought and consideration to that question as you absorb some of what we’ll be hearing on Sunday from God and His amazing Word! As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them. April 21st – The Fourth Sunday of Easter Easter Series: Our Journey With Jesus First Reading: Acts 4:5-12 Epistle: 1 John 3:16-24 Gospel: John 10:11-18 Sermon Title: “Our Journey With Jesus: Worship” Mark of Discipleship: Weekly Worship

In Luke 24, Jesus speaks about how everything needed to be fulfilled that was written about Him throughout the Old Testament – which speaks to how important it is for us to read and know God’s Word, both Old and New Testaments, and to see how all Scripture points us to Jesus. He then opened their minds to be able to understand the Scriptures. He continues to do that for us yet today and through faith and through God’s Word, as Jesus says at the end of this reading, we are witnesses of all these things! How does knowing the Word of God and being regularly in the Word help us on our journey with Jesus? Come to worship on Sunday and find out!As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them.April 14th – The Third Sunday of Easter Easter Series: Our Journey With Jesus First Reading: Acts 3:12-19 Epistle: 1 John 3:1-7 Gospel: Luke 24:36b-48 Sermon Title: “Our Journey With Jesus: Reading Scripture” Mark of Discipleship: Reading Scripture

Continuing our celebration of Easter and Christ’s victory, we read in Acts 4 how the resurrection empowered the disciples to live selfless and giving lives. Gratitude, generosity, and love shown through their lives as they gave of themselves, their finances, and their resources to share Christ’s love and the power of the resurrection with others. It’s not about coercion but how the resurrection transforms our lives. Both the 1 John and the John 20 readings provide more foundational pieces that can be related to how and why we give freely, generously, and with thankfulness from all that the Lord has given us. Being intentional about giving in such a way is an important part of our journey with Jesus.As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them ahead.April 7th – The Second Sunday of EasterEaster Series: Our Journey With JesusFirst Reading: Acts 4:32-35Epistle: 1 John 1:1-2:2Gospel: John 20:19-31Sermon Title: “Our Journey With Jesus: Giving”Mark of Discipleship: Giving

Focusing on the Gospel account from John regarding the resurrection, we are going to look more closely at the wide range of emotions that we see from the disciples, from His other followers, and even from Jesus Himself as we recognize that the Easter story isn’t just a “story,” but rather it is God conveying to us ever so clearly that He knows everything that’s going on in our lives, that He deeply cares for and about us, and that He is here to continue walking with us. This Easter message will include elements of our Lent series (Honest Emotions) and what is coming with the Easter series and the journey on which we find ourselves, walking with Jesus and Jesus with us.First Reading: Psalm 71:1-14 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Gospel: John 20:1-18 (sermon focus) Sermon Title: Easter and Honest Emotions

This is Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week! As we continue with our Lent focus on the psalms, we’ll be looking more closely at Psalm 118, a psalm that is filled with prophecy and very direct connections to Palm Sunday. We hope you can join us as we begin the amazing journey once again through the last week of Jesus’ life on earth and celebrate the love He showed to us through Holy Week.As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them.. March 17th – Palm Sunday Lent Series: The Psalms: A Book of Honest Emotions Old Testament: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11 Gospel: Mark 11:1-11 Sermon Title: “Psalm 118: A Psalm of Celebration”

Psalm 119 is essentially a devotional on the Word of God. The psalm gives us a powerful directive that speaks to both how we’re called to live our lives as God’s people as well as what God’s Word truly provides for us. Over and over the psalm writer points us straight back to God in His Word. I hope you can join me as we take a look at this small part of Psalm 119 together.As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them. March 17th – Fifth Sunday in Lent Lent Series: The Psalms: A Book of Honest Emotions Old Testament: Psalm 119:9-16 Epistle: Hebrews 5:5-10 Gospel: John 12:20-33 Sermon Title: “Psalm 119: The Way, the Truth, and the Life”

Psalm 107 was likely used in a liturgical sense with one of Israel’s annual religious festivals. It’s a psalm of praise to God for His unfailing love – a response for His hearing and answering the prayers of His people in need and of His saving actions. This psalm gets very real with regard to the troubles, the challenges, and the hardships we face, including being up against death itself. And these are the stories that we’re to be telling – stories of our lives that point people back to Jesus. We hope you can join us as we step through Psalm 107 together!As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them. March 10th – Fourth Sunday in Lent Lent Series: The Psalms: A Book of Honest Emotions Old Testament: Psalm 107:1-22 Epistle: Ephesians 2:1-10 Gospel: John 3:14-21 Sermon Title: “Psalm 107: Tell Our Stories”

Psalm 19 is a beautiful psalm extolling the wonders of creation and the glory of God. God’s glory is reflected in creation and also in God’s Word. We are reminded through this psalm to not take for granted the beauty we see all around us. We’re also encouraged to take to heart the beauty and power of God and His Word. We hope you can join us as we take in Psalm 19 together!As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them.March 3rd – Third Sunday in Lent Lent Series: The Psalms: A Book of Honest Emotions Old Testament: Psalm 19 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25Gospel: John 2:13-22Sermon Title: “Psalm 19: Creation and the Word”

Psalm 22 is another psalm written by King David. No other psalm is quoted more frequently in the New Testament than Psalm 22. This is a psalm that, more than almost any other, points directly to Jesus and His suffering on the cross on Good Friday. We’ll focus on some of those direct images tied to Jesus’ Passion and also ask what they mean for us. If you want honesty, this is a psalm where King David pours out his heart in a very personal and, at the same time, a very prophetic way. David’s prayer here is seeking God’s help and deliverance. Throughout Psalm 22 there are emotions and prayers that we can most certainly relate to.As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them. February 25th – Second Sunday in Lent Lent Series: The Psalms: A Book of Honest Emotions Old Testament: Psalm 22 Epistle: Romans 4:13-25 Gospel: Mark 8:31-38 Sermon Title: “Psalm 22: A Psalm of Jesus… and Us”

We continue our new Lent series which we began on Ash Wednesday, The Psalms: A Book of Honest Emotions, as we look more closely at a wide variety of psalms throughout the season of Lent. This Sunday we focus on Psalm 25. Psalm 25 is one of many psalms written by King David. This psalm was written as a psalm of trust, leaning into God’s mercy and His covenant of grace and love. It’s a prayer asking for guidance, wisdom, and direction of what to do and how to live life. The psalm itself is a very practical, down-to-earth expression of wanting to be all that our Lord wants us to be.As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them. February 18th – First Sunday in Lent Lent Series: The Psalms: A Book of Honest Emotions Old Testament: Psalm 25:1-10 Epistle: 1 Peter 3:18-22 Gospel: Mark 1:9-15 Sermon Title: “Hope and Trust in the Lord”

Psalm 51 is a classic and well-known Psalm of David, written after Nathan had confronted King David following the king’s adultery (and more!) with Bathsheba. Many pieces of the Church’s liturgy have flowed out of this psalm with the power that it speaks to confession, forgiveness, and the possibilities with God of where a truly penitent and grace-filled life can lead.Old Testament: Psalm 51:1-17Epistle: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-2

We wrap up the Epiphany season and our Called, Gathered, and Enlightened series with our observance of Jesus’ Transfiguration. However, I’m not going to focus as heavily on the Transfiguration event itself as I have in the past. As we’ve spent this season in St. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, I’ll be focusing on 2 Corinthians reading for the day. Here, Paul again speaks to our times when it comes to the Gospel, the Light shining, the devil’s work in blinding people to the Light and the Truth and veiling their minds, and how the power of God miraculously continues to shine.As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them. February 11th – Transfiguration Sunday Epiphany Series: Called, Gathered, and Enlightened Old Testament: 2 Kings 2:1-12 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 (sermon focus) Gospel: Mark 9:2-9 Sermon Title: “Shining the Light of the Gospel”

We hear from St. Paul the mandate that flows out what we are called, gathered, and enlightened to do – to share the Gospel and “to win as many as possible.” There is some amazing freedom given here, as exemplified by Paul’s own life examples, when it comes to how important the mission is! Isaiah reminds us, with this well-known passage, exactly where the power to do what we do comes from – it is the Lord who will renew our strength! February 4th – Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany Epiphany Series: Called, Gathered, and Enlightened Old Testament: Isaiah 40:21-31 (secondary focus) Epistle: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 (sermon focus) Gospel: Mark 1:29-39 Sermon Title: “Called to Do It All!”

St. Paul speaks right into our times once again this week – not only current times, but from the Enlightenment and Modernity with a jump to very recent times and the constant refrain we heard a couple years ago about trusting the science. Where does our trust lie? Is it in our knowledge or is it in love? Paul gives some great direction when it comes to how we live our lives, or, as he puts it, how we exercise our freedom. We’ll lean heavily into relationships and the practical outcomes of the choices we make.As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them. January 28th – Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany Epiphany Series: Called, Gathered, and Enlightened Old Testament: Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 (sermon focus) Gospel: Mark 1:21-28 Sermon Title: “Knowledge vs Love”

This Sunday will be a reminder to keep a loose grip on the things of this world. Why? Because “this world in its present form is passing away.” What does that mean for us as we are Called, Gathered, and Enlightened? St. Paul lays this out in just a few short verses which will give us opportunity to consider what Jesus has to say in the Gospel reading, that “the time has come... the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” How does all of this help us keep a loose grip on the things of this world? That’s what we’ll be exploring. We hope you can join us!As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them. January 21st – Third Sunday after the Epiphany Epiphany Series: Called, Gathered, and Enlightened Old Testament: Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 (sermon focus) Gospel: Mark 1:14-20 (secondary focus) Sermon Title: “Keeping a Loose Grip”

As we start our new Epiphany series, Called, Gathered, and Enlightened, we begin our 5 week journey through 1 Corinthians with some tough stuff – sexual immorality. The Lord through St. Paul is pretty direct as He speaks on this particular topic – and for good reason. I’ll dive into why that it and some direction and encouragement for all of us. I hope you can join me!As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them ahead of Sunday.January 14th – Second Sunday after the EpiphanyEpiphany Series: Called, Gathered, and EnlightenedOld Testament: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (sermon focus) Gospel: John 1:43-51 Sermon Title: “Called, Gathered, and Enlightened for the Tough Stuff”

Epiphany Sunday is always a celebration of light. We’ll hear the powerful promises and encouragement the Lord gives us through the prophet Isaiah in this week’s Old Testament reading. Isaiah also speaks to the reality of the darkness all around us and how we as God’s people are here to stand up and shine with the light of our Savior’s love to brighten this dark world. We hope you can join us for this service and celebration of Light!As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them. January 7th – Epiphany of the Lord Old Testament: Isaiah 60:1-6 Epistle: Ephesians 3:1-12 Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12 Sermon Title: “Arise! Shine!”

On the cusp of a new calendar year, we’ll take time on this New Year’s Eve Sunday morning to reflect on 2023 and look with anticipation toward 2024. We’ll consider the reminder from Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3 about the many different times and seasons of life and the value that can be gleaned in the ups and the downs that we go through, clinging always to the promises of our Savior. We take the closing words of Scripture in Revelation 22 to heart with the prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus!”As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/ Below are the Scripture readings if you want to take a look at them. December 31st – The First Sunday after Christmas Old Testament: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 Second Reading: Revelation 22:12-21 Gospel: Matthew 25:35-46 Sermon Title: “The Times and Seasons of Life”

Christmas Day is the opportunity to move beyond the wonderful sentimentality and to celebrate the power behind this miracle of Christmas. We hear those profound words from the opening of John’s Gospel in chapter 1, taking us back to the very beginning of creation and making clear for us God’s plan to save us, using images of light and darkness, thinking of Jesus as that “Word made flesh.”December 25, 2023 (Christmas Day)Old Testament: Isaiah 52:7-10Second Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4Gospel: John 1:1-14

Rather than talk about Christmas in general or a specific piece of the Christmas story, this message simply walks us through Luke 2 and gives us the opportunity to soak in with a sense of wonder and awe, this miracle of God’s promise fulfilled. We encourage you to grab a Bible or pull up your Bible app and follow along as we step through this amazing part of God’s Story from Luke 2.December 24, 2023 (Christmas Eve)Old Testament: Isaiah 9:2, 6-7Second Reading: Titus 2:11-14Gospel: Luke 2:1-20