Washburn Memorial Church

02/25/2023

MiniGospel Lesson
Sunday, Feb-26-2023 / Matthew 4: 1-11 / Lent 1
When Temptation Comes
Part of our human dilemma has to do with the temptations that come to us. They are luring and magnetic in their attractions to us. Yet to submit to them is to court disaster. So how are we to deal with them?
Our Lord shows us the way. When he was tempted in the wilderness, he kept spurning temptation by seeking first loyalty to God. Remember his rejection of the tempter? Jesus said, “Begone Satan! It is written, ‘you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”
Do you recall the result of his rejecting temptation? The Gospel tells us that “the devil left him and behold angels came and ministered to him.”
The important point to remember is that God does not forsake those who do not forsake him. Instead, God blesses abundantly those who are faithful.

02/19/2023

Ash Wednesday Service
February 22, 2023 at 6PM
All are welcome.

01/21/2023

Prayer For The Week of January 22, 2024
We have much to learn O Lord when it comes to be followers,
Walking in your footsteps is no easy task for us to perform.
Help us to trust in your power and wisdom that guides us,
Help us to be the light to others that you want us to be.
Help us to shine & to reflect your light on the darkness that saturates the lives of people in this world.
May your light replace the ugliness we bear
with the beauty of the Lamb of God.
Teach us O Lord the Way of your first followers
Gives us the strength to face the challenges of being your disciples.
May we become worthy in the presence of your holiness.
As we incorporate the values and the teachings you lived,
may others learn from us and become followers for others.
You are the Light and truth of this world,
May our words and deeds reflect the ways of God,
And may all our names be written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Amen

01/21/2023

Mini Gospel Message
Sunday, Jan-22-2023 / John 1: 29-42
Epiphany 3
How Come God Isn’t More Choosy?
All of us get in the “pits” at one time or another. When we do, lots of things bother us and weigh us down. One of those things, often, is how we are failing to be good Christians. That’s normal, but it’s not okay! Jesus Christ came into darkness, to people who live in the darkness of sin. We all have a “dark side,” and we think, “God forbid if anyone should ever know this side of me!” The Gospel means that God already knows, and that’s why Jesus came and “planted” himself amongst people — yes, God’s people! Someone has wisely said, “We are only as sick as the secrets we keep.” We have no secrets from God. He’d like to shine the light of Christ into our lives and on our “dark side.” That is the simple Gospel of God's grace.

01/14/2023

Mini Gospel Lesson
Sunday, January 15, 2023
John 1: 29-42
Second Sunday After Epiphany

Jesus, the Chosen One of God
Reflecting or meditating after an important event has happened is a common fact of life. Even newspapers try to do that for us in their accompanying articles, called “Analysis,” when reporting on big stories. The church has been doing this for centuries in her liturgical cycle each year after the big events of Christmas and Easter there is always time set apart for thoughtful reflection on what these two events, these two celebrations, mean to us in our Christian lives. At present we are doing just that in the Christmas cycle. With the help of John the Baptist, as told by John the Evangelist, we are asked to think about who this Jesus of Nazareth truly is and what his birth means to us even centuries later. The Baptist helps us reflect on this prayerful analysis by way of two titles he gives to Jesus — Lamb of God and Chosen One. Each of these titles gives us rich insight, biblical and historical, into the Person of Jesus Christ and the subsequent relationships we develop in faith with this person.

01/14/2023

Prayer For The Week
January 15, 2023
O Lord, the world blinds us from things you want us to see.
Help us O Lord to see the things that Jesus wants us to see
Help us to change our hearts and minds so that we may see
those who live in darkness and despair from no fault of their own.
We cannot remain blind to the hurt and pain of others.
The only way to really see God is to pay attention to those who suffer,
To open ourselves to all our brothers and sisters in this world.
To live the kind of life Jesus taught us to live, never for ourselves.
In God’s world, the last will be first and the first will be last.
As Christians, we are not allowed to look away from God’s children.
When we fail to respond, we move further away from the love of God.
Help us all to care, like Jesus did, help to realize our purpose for living. and that is:
To love God and if we love God, we love our neighbor
and earn God’s eternal gratitude. God is everywhere, when we
comprehend this truth, we will see the Lamb of God…………..Amen

12/23/2022

Fresh from the groomers...so handsome! Thanks Veronica! 🥰

12/22/2022

Christmas Eve Services. 6PM
The Birth of Our Lord
All Are Welcome

12/18/2022

Mini Gospel Lesson
Dec-18-2022
Matthew 1: 18-25
Advent 4

God Is Always Near
For many of us, making shocking discoveries can be traumatic. Undoubtedly, Joseph’s discovery of Mary’s “situation,” her sudden and (initially) inexplicable pregnancy, was one of those discoveries. Yet, Joseph learned a lesson and we learn one, too, from Matthew 1: 18–24. Joseph discovers, as can we, that God is no longer distant. Joseph also discovered that he was valuable and that he, too, would have a role in making sure that Emmanuel, “God with us,” arrived safely into the world. Joseph’s encounter with God’s representative, the angel, assured him, and us now, that God is now not just “nearby” in, say, the Temple or, for us, in a church, but rather, that God is literally right next door, as close as we might be to our neighbors. A God that close, a God who is right next door, then becomes the God who wishes to live in our lives and be to us as close as possible. That is one of the great promises of Christmas.

12/10/2022

Prayer For The 3rd Week of Advent
"The Power Of God"
It is often times very difficult to experience joy in this life.
Our world will do whatever it takes to survive the hardships .
Because we are a divided world, Satan easily conquers
our faith and turns us away from God. We need to realize that
the power of God is all around us, but many are blind to its presence.
Help us O Lord to realize that we are never alone,
We have brothers and sisters that walk the same path we do
Help us to look past the hardships we face on the highway that
Jesus has mapped out for us in this life. Joy cannot be found in the things around us, but rather in our humanity to one another. Just being there for someone who is in pain and sharing that pain brings strength and power that comes from God Himself.
It is the best gift that we can give to one another.
The power of the Lord can change much if we realize that it’s there and use it. The Lord has already come , we remember that each Christmas, and with that he has also brought power to us . Let us all use this power to transform the world This is the Joy of Christmas, Joy is the meat and potatoes of a Christian life.

Amen

12/10/2022

Dec-11-2022 / Matthew 11: 2-11 / Advent 3
Then Came Jesus
Imagine buying tickets to a performance of one of your favorite entertainers months ahead. The evening finally comes and your expectations are high. You wait to hear all the “oldies but goodies,” but the performance proceeds for two hours and still no renditions of the songs you’d waited so anxiously to hear. Many times, we anticipate certain happenings, but they disappoint us. So it was with John the Baptist as he sat in a prison cell waiting to be executed for preaching the coming of the Messiah. He had seen Jesus, had witnessed the voice of the Father, and the confirmation of the Holy Spirit. But was Jesus the One, or should he wait for another? He undoubtedly had expectations of exciting things that Christ’s coming would bring, but now he was waiting to die. Do you make promises to your friends … if only they will accept Christ? Do you lead them to believe all their external problems will disappear, that they be miraculously healed of their cancer? In the Gospel message we consider how to be assured that Jesus is in fact the Son of God, and how he can encourage you each and every day.

12/04/2022

Washburn Community Choir
Christmas Cantata . Sunday Dec. 4, 2022
By Jay Rouse, Rose Aspinal & Randy Vader
Last Song by Pepper Choplin

When We Needed A King