Give Yourself Grace by Lara Heacock When you're doing hard things. When you're going through change. When you're noticing old patterns creeping back in. When you don't feel like you showed up at your best. When you're lost in the whirling dervish of busy. When your heart feels heavy. When your mood feels flat. When [...]
"We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. By your holy cross you have redeemed the whole world" Good Friday begins with our solemn meditation on the sacrifice of Christ. The altar is bare, symbol of his humiliation and beating. Psalm 22 is read with its vivid imagery of Christ's suffering and haunting cry [...]
Love “Spirit of God descend upon my heart; Wean it from earth, through all it’s pulses move; Stoop to my weakness, strength to me impart, And make me love you as I ought to love.” The language of prayer has to be clear, not because the hearer cannot grasp the desire of the vague but [...]
Shelter “O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy past, And our eternal home” To hope is to adventure. The finger that turns this passing page, the mind that uses this fleeting moment, the person who wants to hope—all represent elements of adventure. All want [...]
At this time each year, we set aside time to give thanks for the many blessings in our lives. To those of you traveling to be with loved ones, we especially wish you safe travels and to everyone in our Concordia family, we say, 'We are thankful for the blessing of you. May God continue [...]
An excerpt from Pastor Varner's sermon, offered on October 15th: "St. Augustine famously described the church as a hospital...He saw church as a place for people who are hurting, who are in desperate need of healing. He saw the church as the only hope for a hurting world. Because it’s only here in church that [...]