Joy Lutheran Church Gurnee Illinois

Joy Lutheran Church Gurnee Illinois We believe lives change for the better when we love people the way God loves us. You are welcome here!!!! Joy!

intentionally welcomes and includes all people fully into the faith community, regardless of lifestyle, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, race, ethnicity, religious background/journey, physical or mental ability, education, socioeconomic or marital status, age, and political affiliation.

Labor Day is celebrated to honor the social and economic achievements of workers and their contributions to the strength...
09/07/2026

Labor Day is celebrated to honor the social and economic achievements of workers and their contributions to the strength and prosperity of the country. Joy! honors these achievements and celebrates the national holiday today. The offices will be closed today, September 7th, and will re-open tomorrow at 9 am.

09/06/2026

Scripture
1 Peter 2:4–10
Big Idea
The job does not make you holy. Jesus does. And Jesus turns ordinary work into a calling to love your neighbor.
Repeatable Key Phrase
The work may be ordinary, but God can love the world through it.
Sermon Overview
We often divide life into two categories: sacred and secular. Pastors, missionaries, worship leaders, and church volunteers appear to do “God’s work,” while teachers, baristas, business owners, technicians, caregivers, students, and stay-at-home parents simply work.
But 1 Peter challenges that division.
Writing to Christians who felt displaced, overlooked, and insignificant, Peter reminds them who they are. They are living stones, God’s people, and a royal priesthood. Their sacred identity does not come from their occupation, influence, accomplishments, or religious title. It comes from Jesus, the living cornerstone, and from the mercy they have received.
Because Christ has made us his priestly people, our ordinary responsibilities become places where we can proclaim and embody God’s goodness. We do that through integrity, humility, kindness, courage, excellent work, concern for justice, and sacrificial love for the people around us.
We do not bring God into the workplace as though God were absent. God is already there. Our calling is to notice where God is working and join in.
The work may be ordinary, but God can love the world through it.
The Moment
Ask the congregation to consider which work is more sacred:
A missionary or a barista?
A pastor or a kindergarten teacher?
A mission-trip soccer game or a high-school football practice?
Leading worship or caring for an aging parent?
Serving communion or serving a meal to a tired family?
The question underneath all those questions is:
What actually makes something sacred?
We often assume that something is sacred because it happens inside a church, includes prayer, or is led by someone with a religious title.
But what if sacredness is not determined by the type of work we do?
What if it begins with the God who calls us, forgives us, and sends us?

===============================================================

Speaker – Pastor Mark Borgetti

Welcome to Joy! Lutheran Church, Gurnee, IL
Our mission: Reach our neighbors with Christ’s love so all lives are changed

Newer to Joy! or not sure where to go from here?
We would love to get to know you!
Digital connect card: https://www.joylutheran.org/get-connected-form.html

View our upcoming events: https://www.joylutheran.org/the-connect-page.html

Need Prayer?: https://www.joylutheran.org/prayer-request.html

page: https://www.facebook.com/JoyLutheranChurchGurneeIllinois
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/joylutheran Give online: https://www.joylutheran.org/giving.html

Give online: https://www.joylutheran.org/giving.html

08/30/2026

Overview
Living Proof is a four-week series on Galatians 5:22–23 and the fruit of the Spirit.
The fruit of the Spirit is not a religious checklist or a spiritual performance review. It is living PROOF that God is at work within us. When the Spirit leads, something begins to grow: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Like a fingerprint, the Spirit’s work leaves a mark on our lives AND ESPECIALLY OTHER. It is personal. It is visible. It is evidence that God has been present and active in us. And over time, that evidence begins to show up in the way we love, the way we respond, the way we endure, and the way we treat the people around us.
This series is an invitation to notice the fruit God is already growing. Not with shame. Not with pressure. Not with the burden of trying harder to become better people on our own. But with hope — because the Spirit is still working, still shaping, still growing a life in us that looks more and more like Jesus.
Each week, we will ask a simple question: What fruit is the Spirit growing in me?
Because the fruit we bear is not proof that we are perfect. It is proof that God is present.

WEEK 4 — Living Proof in the Neighborhood
Scripture:
Galatians 5:13–14, 22–25
Optional supporting text: John 15:5, 8
Big Idea:
The Spirit grows fruit in us for the sake of the people around us.
Overview:
This week connects the fruit of the Spirit directly to JoyServe. The fruit of the Spirit is not meant to stay private. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control become living proof when they move beyond us and bless the world around us. This is the natural “so what” for the series about what happens when the fruit leaves the branch and blesses the neighbor.
JoyServe is not just a church service project. It is a visible expression of what the Spirit is growing in this community. It is love with work gloves on. Kindness with a paintbrush. Goodness with a rake. Faithfulness with a casserole. Gentleness with a listening ear. Peace carried into places of stress. Joy shared with people who need encouragement.
This week keeps the series uplifting by saying:
Look at what God is growing in us — and look at how that fruit can feed our neighbors.
Historical Insight:
Before Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit, he says, “through love become servants to one another.” The Galatian church was wrestling with division, identity, and what faithfulness looked like. Paul reminds them that Christian freedom is not freedom to serve ourselves. It is freedom to love, serve, and bless others.
Theological Insight:
The fruit of the Spirit is never just for personal spiritual growth. God forms us for the sake of the neighbor. The Spirit shapes our character so that our lives become a witness to Christ’s love in the world.
This fits beautifully with a Lutheran sense of vocation: we love and serve God by loving and serving the neighbor.
Good News:
God is already growing fruit in this church. JoyServe is not about proving we are a good church. It is living proof that God’s Spirit is alive among us and moving us toward our neighbors in love.
Suggested Structure:
Fruit is meant to be shared
Fruit does not exist for the tree alone. Fruit blesses, nourishes, and feeds others. The Spirit grows fruit in us so others can experience the love of Christ through us.
Serving is the fruit becoming visible
JoyServe gives people a way to see faith in action. It takes what we have talked about for three weeks and puts it into motion.
The Spirit’s fingerprint reaches the neighborhood
If the fruit of the Spirit is God’s fingerprint on a life, then JoyServe is God’s fingerprint moving through a church into the community.
We serve because Christ first served us
This is not about earning God’s love or proving our worth. We serve because we have already been loved, already been served, already been blessed by Christ.
Invitation: Be living proof
Invite the congregation to ask: “Where can the fruit God is growing in me become a blessing to someone else?”

===============================================================

Speaker – Pastor Mark Borgetti

Welcome to Joy! Lutheran Church, Gurnee, IL
Our mission: Reach our neighbors with Christ’s love so all lives are changed

Newer to Joy! or not sure where to go from here?
We would love to get to know you!
Digital connect card: https://www.joylutheran.org/get-connected-form.html

View our upcoming events: https://www.joylutheran.org/the-connect-page.html

Need Prayer?: https://www.joylutheran.org/prayer-request.html

page: https://www.facebook.com/JoyLutheranChurchGurneeIllinois
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/joylutheran Give online: https://www.joylutheran.org/giving.html

Give online: https://www.joylutheran.org/giving.html

This prayer quilt is for Christina, to wrap her in God's love through prayers as she faces an upcoming surgery. We pray ...
08/23/2026

This prayer quilt is for Christina, to wrap her in God's love through prayers as she faces an upcoming surgery. We pray for God to be with Christina and her family as she goes through this surgery. Please guide the hands of the medical professionals as they do their work, and that Christina will be restored to full health.

08/23/2026

Overview
Living Proof is a four-week series on Galatians 5:22–23 and the fruit of the Spirit.
The fruit of the Spirit is not a religious checklist or a spiritual performance review. It is living PROOF that God is at work within us. When the Spirit leads, something begins to grow: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Like a fingerprint, the Spirit’s work leaves a mark on our lives AND ESPECIALLY OTHER. It is personal. It is visible. It is evidence that God has been present and active in us. And over time, that evidence begins to show up in the way we love, the way we respond, the way we endure, and the way we treat the people around us.
This series is an invitation to notice the fruit God is already growing. Not with shame. Not with pressure. Not with the burden of trying harder to become better people on our own. But with hope — because the Spirit is still working, still shaping, still growing a life in us that looks more and more like Jesus.
Each week, we will ask a simple question: What fruit is the Spirit growing in me?
Because the fruit we bear is not proof that we are perfect. It is proof that God is present.

WEEK 3 — Living Proof Under Pressure
Scripture:
Galatians 5:22–23
Focus fruits: Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control
Big Idea:
The Spirit grows a steady life in us, and under pressure that fruit becomes living proof of God’s grace.
Overview:
Week 3 closes the series by looking at the fruit that often becomes most visible when life is difficult. Faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are not flashy, but they are powerful. They reveal a life being steadied by the Spirit.
This week can lean into the idea that pressure often reveals what is really growing in us. When we are tired, criticized, tempted, disappointed, stressed, or afraid, we find out what is shaping us. And sometimes, by God’s grace, we discover that we are not who we used to be.
We keep showing up.
We respond with gentleness instead of force.
We are not ruled by every impulse, emotion, or desire.
That is not self-made goodness. That is the Spirit’s fingerprint.
Historical Insight:
In Galatians, Paul contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. “Flesh” does not simply mean the body. It means the human tendency to live apart from God’s direction — driven by ego, fear, impulse, control, and self-protection. The Spirit-led life looks different because it is being shaped by God.
Theological Insight:
Faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control show that Christian maturity is not loudness, dominance, or religious intensity. The Spirit forms people who are steady, humble, and free. The fruit is not proof of our perfection. It is proof of the Spirit’s presence.
Good News:
The same Spirit who began this work in you is still growing fruit in you. Even under pressure, God can make your life living proof of grace.
Suggested Structure:
Pressure reveals the fingerprint
Pressure often shows what has been forming beneath the surface.
Faithfulness is love that keeps showing up
Faithfulness is steady, dependable, resilient love over time.
Gentleness is strength surrendered to God
Gentleness is not passivity. It is power without harshness.
Self-control is freedom from being ruled by impulse
Self-control is not white-knuckled willpower. It is the Spirit helping us live with holy freedom.
Invitation: Trust the growth
Ask: “Where is the Spirit making me steadier, gentler, or freer than I used to be?”
That is living proof.
===============================================================

Speaker – Pastor Mark Borgetti

Welcome to Joy! Lutheran Church, Gurnee, IL
Our mission: Reach our neighbors with Christ’s love so all lives are changed

Newer to Joy! or not sure where to go from here?
We would love to get to know you!
Digital connect card: https://www.joylutheran.org/get-connected-form.html

View our upcoming events: https://www.joylutheran.org/the-connect-page.html

Need Prayer?: https://www.joylutheran.org/prayer-request.html

page: https://www.facebook.com/JoyLutheranChurchGurneeIllinois
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/joylutheran Give online: https://www.joylutheran.org/giving.html

Give online: https://www.joylutheran.org/giving.html

08/21/2026

Annual sermon series brainstorming meeting. Great group of peoples listening to God’s whispers and nudges on what we should be talking about in 2027.

08/16/2026

Overview
Living Proof is a four-week series on Galatians 5:22–23 and the fruit of the Spirit.
The fruit of the Spirit is not a religious checklist or a spiritual performance review. It is living PROOF that God is at work within us. When the Spirit leads, something begins to grow: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Like a fingerprint, the Spirit’s work leaves a mark on our lives AND ESPECIALLY OTHER. It is personal. It is visible. It is evidence that God has been present and active in us. And over time, that evidence begins to show up in the way we love, the way we respond, the way we endure, and the way we treat the people around us.
This series is an invitation to notice the fruit God is already growing. Not with shame. Not with pressure. Not with the burden of trying harder to become better people on our own. But with hope — because the Spirit is still working, still shaping, still growing a life in us that looks more and more like Jesus.
Each week, we will ask a simple question: What fruit is the Spirit growing in me?
Because the fruit we bear is not proof that we are perfect. It is proof that God is present.

WEEK 2 — The Evidence Shows Up Around Us
Scripture:
Galatians 5:22–23
Focus fruits: Patience, Kindness, Goodness
Big Idea:
When the Spirit is at work within us, the evidence shows up around us — especially in how we treat other people.
Overview:
Week 2 moves from inner evidence to outward evidence. Love, joy, and peace begin within us, but patience, kindness, and goodness become visible in our relationships.
This is where the “fingerprint” image gets practical. The Spirit leaves a mark on us, and then that mark begins to touch the people around us. Our family feels it. Our coworkers feel it. Our church feels it. Strangers feel it. Even difficult people may experience us differently because the Spirit is growing something new in us.
This week should help people recognize small but real signs of growth:
“I did not respond the way I used to.”
“I had more patience than I expected.”
“I chose kindness when I could have chosen sarcasm.”
“I did the good thing even when nobody noticed.”
That is living proof.
Historical Insight:
Just before Paul names the fruit of the Spirit, he warns the Galatians not to “bite and devour one another.” The church was experiencing conflict and division. So the fruit of the Spirit is not abstract spirituality. It is what happens when the Spirit forms a community that treats people differently.
Theological Insight:
The Spirit does not only change our beliefs. The Spirit changes our posture. Patience, kindness, and goodness are grace becoming visible through our actions.
Good News:
You are not stuck being reactive, harsh, impatient, or indifferent. The Spirit can grow new fruit in old places. God can leave a new fingerprint on your relationships.
Suggested Structure:
The Spirit’s work does not stay hidden
If the Spirit is working within us, eventually the evidence shows up around us.
Patience is love that slows down
Patience gives people room to be human. It is the Spirit helping us pause before reacting.
Kindness is grace people can feel
Kindness is not weakness. It is the Spirit making grace visible.
Goodness is love put into action
Goodness is not just having good intentions. It is choosing what reflects God’s heart.
Invitation: Look for relational fruit
Ask: “Where is the Spirit helping me treat people differently than I used to?”
That is God’s fingerprint on your life.

===============================================================

Speaker – Pastor Mark Borgetti

Welcome to Joy! Lutheran Church, Gurnee, IL
Our mission: Reach our neighbors with Christ’s love so all lives are changed

Newer to Joy! or not sure where to go from here?
We would love to get to know you!
Digital connect card: https://www.joylutheran.org/get-connected-form.html

View our upcoming events: https://www.joylutheran.org/the-connect-page.html

Need Prayer?: https://www.joylutheran.org/prayer-request.html

page: https://www.facebook.com/JoyLutheranChurchGurneeIllinois
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/joylutheran Give online: https://www.joylutheran.org/giving.html

Give online: https://www.joylutheran.org/giving.html

This prayer quilt is for Mia, who has been hospitalized for much of this past year at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chica...
08/09/2026

This prayer quilt is for Mia, who has been hospitalized for much of this past year at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. She is currently fighting a bad infection and is expected to have another extended stay in the hospital right now. Her family is split between there and Round Lake, and this continues to take a toll on them. Prayers for healing and strength as she and her family get through this most recent hospitalization.

08/09/2026

Overview
Living Proof is a four-week series on Galatians 5:22–23 and the fruit of the Spirit.
The fruit of the Spirit is not a religious checklist or a spiritual performance review. It is living PROOF that God is at work within us. When the Spirit leads, something begins to grow: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Like a fingerprint, the Spirit’s work leaves a mark on our lives AND ESPECIALLY OTHER. It is personal. It is visible. It is evidence that God has been present and active in us. And over time, that evidence begins to show up in the way we love, the way we respond, the way we endure, and the way we treat the people around us.
This series is an invitation to notice the fruit God is already growing. Not with shame. Not with pressure. Not with the burden of trying harder to become better people on our own. But with hope — because the Spirit is still working, still shaping, still growing a life in us that looks more and more like Jesus.
Each week, we will ask a simple question: What fruit is the Spirit growing in me?
Because the fruit we bear is not proof that we are perfect. It is proof that God is present.

WEEK 1 — God’s Fingerprint on a Life
Scripture:
Galatians 5:22–23
Focus fruits: Love, Joy, Peace
Big Idea:
The fruit of the Spirit is God’s fingerprint on a life — visible evidence that the Spirit is alive and working within us.
Overview:
This opening week introduces the heart of the series: the fruit of the Spirit is not a spiritual checklist or a religious performance review. It is living proof that God is present and active in us.
A fingerprint is personal. It is unique. It identifies presence. In the same way, love, joy, and peace are signs that the Spirit has been at work beneath the surface of our lives.
This is also a great week to share your personal connection: the tattoo, the tree, the nine pieces of fruit, and the daily self-check:
“Am I bearing fruit today?”
But the tone should be uplifting, not condemning. The invitation is not, “Look how much fruit you are missing.” The invitation is, “Look where the Spirit is already growing something in you.”
Historical Insight:
Paul writes Galatians to a church wrestling with what really proves someone belongs to God. Some were focused on outward religious markers. Paul points them instead to the Spirit-led life. The evidence of God’s work is not religious appearance, status, or rule-keeping. The evidence is fruit.
Theological Insight:
Paul says “fruit” singular, not “fruits” plural. He is describing one Spirit-formed life with many expressions. Love, joy, and peace are not separate achievements. They are connected signs of one deeper reality: the Spirit is shaping us from the inside out.
Good News:
You do not have to manufacture the fruit. The Spirit is already at work in you, growing love where there was fear, joy where there was weariness, and peace where there was anxiety. The fruit you bear is not proof that you are perfect. It is proof that God is present.
Suggested Structure:
A fingerprint proves presence
A fingerprint says, “Someone was here.”
The fruit of the Spirit says, “God has been here. God is at work in this life.”
Love is the first mark of the Spirit
Love is not just emotion. It is the Spirit forming the heart of Christ in us.
Joy is evidence that circumstances do not get the final word
Joy does not mean everything is easy. It means God’s goodness is still alive in us.
Peace is the Spirit holding us together
Peace is not the absence of problems. It is the presence of God within them.
Invitation: Notice the fingerprint
Ask: “Where do I see love, joy, or peace growing in me?”
That is living proof.
===============================================================

Speaker – Pastor Mark Borgetti

Welcome to Joy! Lutheran Church, Gurnee, IL
Our mission: Reach our neighbors with Christ’s love so all lives are changed

Newer to Joy! or not sure where to go from here?
We would love to get to know you!
Digital connect card: https://www.joylutheran.org/get-connected-form.html

View our upcoming events: https://www.joylutheran.org/the-connect-page.html

Need Prayer?: https://www.joylutheran.org/prayer-request.html

page: https://www.facebook.com/JoyLutheranChurchGurneeIllinois
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/joylutheran Give online: https://www.joylutheran.org/giving.html

Give online: https://www.joylutheran.org/giving.html

Address

749 S Hunt Club Road
Gurnee, IL
60031

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 3:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 3:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 3:30pm
Thursday 9am - 3:30pm
Sunday 8am - 11:30am

Telephone

+18473624569

Website

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