Grace Lutheran Church Virginia IL- ELCA

06/21/2026

Bishop Greg Busboom of the Central/Southern Synod of the ELCA, will be preaching and Mary Lou Janssen (SAM) will be assisting in the service tomorrow, Sunday, June 21st at Grace Lutheran Church, Virginia, IL and St. John’s Lutheran Church, Bluff Springs. Grace’s service begins at 9 AM and St John’s at 10:30am in Bluff Springs, IL. Please join us!

06/14/2026

All are welcome at Grace Lutheran Church for worship on Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM!

Matthew 9:35—10:8 [9-23] Proclaim the Good News! GO! The good news of eternal life through Jesus still needs to be proclaimed and so Jesus is sending his disciples. Do you believe this and what are you willing to do about it? I often look over my shoulder thinking God is asking that imaginary person behind me instead of me in proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. It’s as if I am asking, “Who? Me? Are you sure?” He couldn’t possibly want me … to do that! Yet, he does. Perhaps you might be asking something along those lines too.
What do we find so challenging or intimidating in sharing our faith? I wouldn’t be where I am now, if it was not for others who shared, continue to share their faith, with me. People who invested their time and effort as laborers in God’s fields with the gifts God laid on their hearts to give to me. A kind word, encouragement, fortitude, a desire to learn more about our Lord and Savior.
Go…proclaim the good news.

GO! The good news of eternal life through Jesus still needs to be ...

06/06/2026

Come worship with us! Sunday June 7th 9:00 AM.

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 “Inheritors of God’s grace and God’s mercy.” Throughout the Sundays of the church year, we have many gospel lessons wherein Jesus taught us the importance of showing empathy for others, of not being judgmental of circumstances we might not understand. If we were to examine the lives of people that Jesus encountered and whom he helped in teaching us those many lessons, we will discover that their wants, needs, and feelings are very similar to what we encounter today. The very people we often overlook … or who we don’t see, are the very ones Christ puts smack dab in front of us to share His love, mercy and grace.

Throughout the Sundays of the church year, we have many gospel less...

05/30/2026

See you in church! 9:00 AM worship at Grace Lutheran Church, Sunday May 31st.

Matthew 28:16-20. Trinity Sunday. “Faithful Doubters.” Let us hold tightly to one line of today’s introduction: we can only grasp the mystery of the Trinity in part, but we trust in the love and grace of God revealed to us in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Let us hold tightly to one line of today’s introduction: we can onl...

05/24/2026

Join us for worship 9:00 AM Sunday May 24th.

John 20:19-23 Locked doors did not deter him. Pentecost Sunday! Peace. Proof. Purpose. Power. Proclamation. The locked doors were no deterrent to Jesus. The Holy Spirit is now present in you, helping you, walking alongside you, and empowering you with everything you need to fulfill the purpose God had for you when He created you. Every human has a purpose, a mission.
A simple truth is that we need a sense of purpose in our lives. A purpose gets us up in the morning. A purpose keeps us moving. That purpose may be that you smile at someone today. To call someone and tell them that you love them and Jesus does too. That purpose might be a simple “thank you” to acknowledge they matter. God promises to send the Holy Spirit to you as a Helper…and He does.

Peace. Proof. Purpose. Power. Proclamation. The locked doors were n...

05/16/2026

Join us for 9:00 AM worship Sundays at Grace Lutheran Church!

John 17:1-11 Christ Prays. Jesus’ prayer in today’s gospel is a prayer rooted in the “Sincerity of the heart,” Jesus’ heart. His prayer reminds us of the significance of Jesus' sacrifice, yet it also demonstrates for us the transformative power it holds for us as believers, urging us to embrace our own "hour" of calling in faith and service.

Jesus’ prayer in today’s gospel is a prayer rooted in the “Sincerity of the heart,” Jesus’ heart. His prayer reminds us of the significance of Jesus' sacrifi...

05/10/2026

All are welcome to worship at Grace Lutheran Church 9:00 AM tomorrow May 10th

John 14:15-21 Christ our advocate. Transitioning… Jesus is talking to his closest friends during a very heavy time, and he gives them and us a promise that changes everything. Living in the power of the Spirit is the secret to a life in which we, through the motivation of love by our Savior, are never, ever abandoned.

Transitioning… Jesus is talking to his closest friends during a very heavy time, and he gives them and us a promise that changes everything. Living in the po...

05/02/2026

Join us for Sunday service at 9:00 AM May 3rd - Grace Lutheran Church

John 14:1-14. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life
Today’s gospel provides us the opportunity to contemplate what is ultimately unknown about our life, and accept it, ACCEPT IT as part of Gods plan. Our eternal life is in heaven, but there is still our life on earth to live..live fully, abundantly, as God intended us to. So why then, at times, do we doubt? And often it is not just about the bigger issues we face. Reality is that it is often the “small” things of this life that we tend to obsess over – that we worry about, because we just can’t figure out why something is the was it is. We are not alone is doing this. Generations before us have as well.
Life is not always easy. Times and circumstances in this life have us wanting to see God too. What is stopping us from doing just that?

John 14:1-14. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

04/25/2026

John 10:1-10. “The Gate”. As believers, what does the image of a gate teach us about Christianity? … about Jesus Christ? Do we limit our knowledge that we will always have a Savior who will bring us to the pasture of life to the full, no matter which empty-promise pastures we have detoured to along the way? Although that is true, I hope we give more discernment to what Jesus tells us in today’s gospel.
There is only one gate, according to Christ’s image; and Christ Himself is the gate. As Christians we experience, we trust, and we believe in Christ our Good Shepherd. As believers we are confident in the promises given to us by God. God's word says that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and not by our own efforts or works.

John 10:1-10. “The Gate”

04/23/2026

Joann has been a part of Grace since the beginning.

Joann J. Sudbrink, 91, of Virginia, Illinois, passed away Monday, April 20, 2026, at Cass County Senior Living Rehabilitation due to complications from a recent fall. She was born June 9, 1934 in Beardstown, IL, the daughter of Lester Lee and Beulah Smith Bell. A 1952 graduate of Virginia High