Excelsior Lutheran Church

06/06/2026

Please note: we will not have a church service on June 7th or June 21st. We will have a church service at 8:30 am on June 14th. Regular weekly services will resume on June 28th.

05/20/2026

We give thanks for a life of faith and service and pray for comfort and peace for all who mourn the passing of our longtime church member, Alyce Klema.

View Alyce Ann Klema's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

04/05/2026

He is risen!

04/03/2026

What happened on Good Friday?

Today is often called Good Friday, marking the day that Jesus suffered and died on the cross. There are a few reasons that we use the word "Good" today:

First of all, it is indeed good, because God's love of the world was on full display and humanity now had the opportunity to be reconciled with the Creator.

Secondly, the word 'good' in old English carried the same definition of 'holy'. Many other languages call today "Holy Friday", and "Good Friday" is mainly a semantic in English.

Finally, it is possible that today once was called "God's Friday" or Gottes Freitag, and after a while it evolved into "Good Friday". This is similar to how "God Be With Ye" eventually turned into "Goodbye".

Regardless of what we call the day, this is when Jesus gave His life for us. He was mocked, spit at, and tortured under the High Priest and then Pilate. He was then forced to wear a crown of thorns, along with a royal robe, and carry a staff while the soldiers bowed down and mock-worshipped Him.

After the flogging, Jesus was forced to carry His cross outside the city's gates to the place of the skull. He was nailed to the cross around 9am and would hang there for 6 hours. When Jesus gave up His spirit, the earth shook with a terrible earthquake and the temple veil was torn top to bottom. The centurion said "Surely this Man was the Son of God"

After He died, His body was taken down from the cross and placed into a borrowed tomb. He was wrapped in linen clothes, and a stone was rolled in front of the entrance. The women hurried home to make spices and perfumes to anoint the body of Jesus. After this, Good Friday was over and all was quiet.

But Sunday is coming!

Disclaimer: The Bible is not always written in chronological order, so it may be difficult to know exactly which specific days these events happened.

04/02/2026

On Maundy Thursday, we remember Christ's last meal with his disciples, but the central focus is his commandment that we love one another as he loves us.

"The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.'

In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me! For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

01/23/2026

January 25th Church Service has been cancelled due to weather/temperature.