The Word of God Community

01/11/2022

Learn how the Gospel speaks to our true identity, changes our motivation, and sends the Church out to live a lifestyle of discipleship.

January 29, 2022
9:30 am - 5pm

$35 (Early Bird Price Ends 1/15/22)

Workshop sessions will give you Gospel foundations and practical tools to equip your people for making disciples of Jesus in community with their family and friends. You'll be given ample time to process what you learn and get all of your questions answered.

https://www.thewordofgodcommunity.org/discipleship

Zoom Option: If for some reason you are unable to attend in person a zoom link will be sent out to all registered attendees prior to the day of the event.

03/17/2020

PLEASE READ: Concerning our Upcoming Prayer Meetings

Jack Flanagan
Mon, Mar 16, 3:42 PM (19 hours ago)
to The

Brothers and Sisters,

Praise be to Jesus, now and forever!

Given Covid-19 realities, St. Luke's Lutheran Church has decided to close their doors for at least 2 weeks to all services. Obviously, this impacts our prayer meeting schedule. And given the fluid nature of allowed group sizes as per the state government, we are uncertain how long this may continue. Therefore, we will not be having our prayer meeting this Sunday. We will keep you informed as future events unfold.

In the meantime, let's keep our eyes on Jesus, remaining close to Him. He is our health and our refuge, a very present help In time of trouble! Keep yourself built up on the faith: rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thes. 5.17-19)

Secondly, let's lean into our life groups for support. Stay in communications with your brothers and sisters. Communicate any needs you may have with them. These are an immediate resource of support, especially for those who have no immediate family to call upon. If you think it imprudent to meet together as a life group, stay in touch via phone and email.

Finally, if you come upon an especially encouraging scripture that you find especially helpful, let me know so we can pass it along to the entire Community.

Our trust is in the Lord who made heaven and earth. And let's be on the look out for our neighbors who may be in need. This is a great time for us to be salt and light to our world!

We are safe in Jesus' keeping,
Jack Flanagan

03/17/2020

Sring Renewal



Even after a relatively mild winter by southern Michigan standards, I am still looking forward to spring. I am enjoying the beginning signs. Already birds are in action, chirping, singing; we even saw egrets in a mating dance. Robins and cardinals and blue jays are about. Green grass is just beginning to appear near rocks that reflect the sun's light and warmth. Early budding trees. Even neighbors are reappearing after their winter solitude, walking the streets, some appearing eager to begin spring clean up. I find myself very attentive to and encouraged by these signs of new and reemerging life.

And all this gives me hope for new life interiorly too. God's physical and material world point us to the spiritual and to the eternal! After all, He has reconciled the world to Himself. St. Paul tells us, "... in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself…" (2 Cor. 5.10) His creation awakens, and this signals His wish to bring new life into us too.

In Revelation John says "he makes all things new", (Revelation 21.5). It doesn't read "all new things". He renews and restores "all things" in His reconciling graces. And in so doing we can catch a glimpse of His glory. Thanks be to God!

As we observe the signs of the emerging spring season, let us breathe deeply and welcome His renewing Spirit into our hearts and family and into all our troubled world. And let's greet our neighbors joyfully too, for we are all His children in our Father's wonderful world.

Jack

03/10/2020

Listen

A week ago Sunday we were introduced to the community Prayer Bowl. Each of us were invited to write down prayer concerns and intentions on 3x5 cards and place them in the Prayer Bowl. We prayed for all the intentions together and then each of us drew a prayer card (or two) out of the bowl to pray for until we get together again. The Lord is calling us to draw together! How better than to pray more earnestly and fervently for each other.

Take some extra time today and pray for your Prayer Bowl prayer intention(s). As you pray, listen to the Lord for a word of knowledge about the needs/concerns you're praying for. If you were unable to get a prayer card, take some time and pray for brothers and sisters as the Lord leads. . .

What's the Lord saying?

-- Stephen

02/26/2020

Daily Lent Reflections!

Billy has put together a series of daily Lent reflections. To get the free e-book or sign up for the daily emails go to

Sign up today and you will receive the full Lent Action Guide in your inbox to print or save, plus daily emails during Lent with each reflection.

02/26/2020

Re-focus on Jesus

Matthew 19:13-15 (NIV)

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

The 40 Days/Lent is a good time for us to come to Jesus like little children. The focus of this season is not on what we are doing or not doing. This is a good time to re-focus of Jesus & what he has done and is doing. The kingdom of heaven does not belong to ‘such as these’ because they are innocent (Jesus knows us too well for that!) but because they don’t bring anything to him, in fact, they need to be brought! It is their dependence that Jesus is commending.

It helps us to simplify our lives some or to add some activities which help us focus on Jesus, by all means, let’s do so during the 40 Days. But most of all, let’s come to Jesus with empty hands and tell him that he is our all in all.

Phil Tiews

02/21/2020

Persecution

Sometimes persecution is a reality in the Christian life. As I prayed this week for a friend going through some very difficult circumstances, it occurred to me that some of the best prayers for facing persecution are found in Scripture itself, so, rather than trying to improve on the best available, my prayer proposals will simply be several quotations from the Bible:

(Acts 4:24b-26, 29-30: The Jewish believers pray after Peter and John were released following interrogation by the Sanhedrin):

“Sovereign Lord, you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one. ….

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

(2 Cor 1:3-4):
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

(James 1:2-4 (prefaced with my words to make it into a prayer)):
Come Holy Spirit and help us to respond to God’s Word, where it says: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

(Rom 8:31b-39 (again, prefaced with my words)):
Lord, encourage us as we ponder Paul’s words to the Romans: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
‘For your sake, we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”


- Tom

01/30/2020

Journey with God
Brothers and Sisters,

John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress has been on my mind recently. We read this to our children years ago. In the event you are not familiar with the story, it's the story of Christian, the main character in the first segment of the book, leaving the City of Destruction, the place of dysfunctional living and sin, to set out for the Celestial City, heaven. On the way he encounters all kinds of difficulties and opposition. After an arduous and long trek, and lots of grace and help by God's agents on the way, he arrives.

Amazing - written in jail, if I remember correctly. Good things happen there occasionally!

Terri and I are just now completing a pilgrimage tour in Israel, to visit many of the sites where Jesus walked and lived. Just like Christian, we were not sure what to expect initially (we were still in the US at this writing). But the thought struck me in prayer this morning that we live each moment grace by grace. We live one moment at a time, and each moment or event or encounter with others is done so through His sustaining grace. Like Christian of Pilgrim's Progress, we do not see all that is before us; we don't know all the hazards and roadblocks and opposition we will come upon. But in trust, we know He is with us and His sustaining grace sees us through whatever obstacle or difficulty we might encounter. His providence is with all of us on our journey to the Celestial City.

Let us take a moment to bow before Him and thank Him for His momentous faithfulness and grace that accompanies us on all the twists and turns of the road of our Pilgrim way.

-Jack

01/24/2020

Make us One

This week is the International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The prayer I offer for this week is taken from The Word of God webpage:
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:20-23
Jesus prayed that his disciples would be one. And profoundly one, as he and the Father are one! Can we pray for anything less? Can we doubt that the Father will hear and answer the Son’s prayer?

This is why we are so serious about Christian unity. It flows from the heart of the Father and the Son and is enabled by the Spirit. What is at stake is the world’s understanding of Jesus and the church. Is there anything that discounts Christ in the eyes of the world more than the strife and division among Christians? We cannot create unity by our efforts. We need the Father to answer the Son’s cry and to let the love he pours into our hearts flow out to our brothers and sisters.

Not only are we seeking to walk out unity across denominational divisions within The Word of God, we are an active part of a network of churches and other ministries in our County called the Pastors Alliance for County Transformation (PACT) who are ‘Building Unity to Reach the Community’.

All across the country and around the globe the Lord is stirring his people in cities and regions to prayer and cooperation in his mission. This work is taking many forms under the moving of the Spirit. Do a search and discover what is happening in your area and join in the answer of the Father to Jesus’ prayer!

Behold, how good and pleasant it is
for brethren to dwell together in unity (Psalm 133:1)

Lord, draw us closer to you and in so doing closer to each other. Increase our love for each other.

Come Lord Jesus!

-- Stephen

01/14/2020

Start with Prayer

It is without dispute that we live in seemingly daunting times for Christianity in the Western world. While it’s tempting for us to give up hope, we are exhorted in God’s word to not do so. In these times we must turn to our greatest strength: PRAYER!

We are called to persevere in prayer, confident that the Father will hear us. We read in Luke 18:1: “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” The story follows with a widow that kept pestering an unjust judge to give her justice against her adversary. Worn down, he finally caves in. The Lord concludes: “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

It should amaze us that the Lord intends to not just answer prayer, but to do so in a manner that glorifies His Name! In John 14:13-14, Jesus tells His disciples: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

So, we could pray:

Holy Spirit of encouragement, strengthen the faith of we, the prayer warriors of our God, that we may be confident that, as we persevere in prayer, we will surely be heard, and can move the Father’s hand to open the floodgates of heaven to shower down to earth heavenly help, grace, and saving revelation of Jesus’ love for our wandering family members and friends.

Equip us, we pray, with the full armor of God, so that we “can take [our] stand against the devil’s schemes, …. and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, [help us] be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Eph. 6:10 and 18) Guide us to seek the heart of Jesus to motivate our prayers, which can have the cumulative power to tear down proud spiritual strongholds, for “our struggle is not against flesh and blood.”

May we join our prayers to the cloud of witnesses who came before us, as we continue, by prayer, to bring all things into submission under the feet of Jesus, making our contribution to the final completion of the work of salvation that He began. In the never-failing, all-prevailing name of Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen!

- Thomas Stasny

01/07/2020

Happy New Year
We love you God, and we give you this year

In your arms, we entrust all our hopes
knowing it is only by your strength and through your grace that we can move

In your heart, we entrust those we love
Trusting that although our love may fail yours will not.

Into your will, we entrust last year
Beliving that in all of its joys, sorrows, and supprises you are working good
For those who love you
And are called according to your purpose

We love you God and we give you this year

- Billy Kangas

12/28/2019

Christmas Day meditation

Today.
The day the Son of God took his first breath as a man.
Let’s pause, ponder and absorb the timeless truths expressed in these carols.

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, Born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be glory given;
Word of the Father, Now in flesh appearing.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail the incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray!
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us to-day.

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.

Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die;
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.

Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the new-born King!

- Pat O'Connell