Today's author is Retired ELCA Pastor and Prince of Peace member, Steve Sveom. 1 John 1:1-2:2...

July and August often bring a change of pace, a chance to step back from our hectic schedules and find moments of rest. (That’s what I’m up to this week!) In this season of respite, we have a unique opportunity to delve deeply into a profound bit of scripture and allow its truths to resonate within us. Sunday, we’ll embark on a six-week journey through the book of 1 John, titled “Complete Joy.” As we do, let’s take a moment to reflect on the significance of slowing down during these summer months.

1 John 4:19 talks about how we love one another because he loved us first. As we go forward in our everyday life it is important to not forget to love but also not forget why we love.

Yesterday, we concluded our worship series, “Created to Be” with the final calling to be disciples. We recognized that our actions of love and service are profound witnesses to the transformative power of God’s love. In a world often skeptical of religious faith, the way we live out our discipleship can speak volumes, sometimes more powerfully than words alone.

“See the holy in the ordinary,” encourages author and theologian Diana Butler Bass. As we conclude our “Created to Be” series this weekend, we’re called to remember the ways in which we seek to follow Jesus’ lead. We need Jesus, just as the world needs us. We are created to be disciples, ones who follow and encourage others onto the same path.

Today's author is Prince of Peace member and youth, Enna Wold. To me, being disruptive means using...

This weekend, our series continues with the theme “Created to Be Disruptive.” On Sunday we’ll reflect on the powerful moment when Jesus entered the temple and disrupted the status quo. In Matthew 21:12-17, Jesus overturns the tables of the money changers and drives out those who were exploiting the sacred space for profit. His actions were a bold statement against the injustices and corrupt practices that had taken root in the very heart of religious life.

I decided to connect the topic Free to a couple of scriptures. Starting with the scripture Romans 12:2 (Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.) which shows that not following the pattern of the world means breaking away from social norms and ideals to shape who you want to be, not what the world wants you to be.

I promise you, it’s a coincidence that just after our country celebrated it independence, our church happened to take on the theme “Created to Be Free.” Who would have thought that the concept of “freedom” would come to carry the amount of cultural and political baggage as it does today? But, as God’s faithful, it would truly be a shame if we confused, let alone ceded, the very definition of living free in God’s world.

On the heels of Independence Day, we shift to consider what it means to be created free, not just the privilege of living that way. On Sunday, we’ll read from Romans 12, where Paul urges us not to conform to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This transformation allows us to discern and live out God’s vision for the world as we have been made good, pleasing, and perfect.

Today's author is Retired ELCA Pastor and Prince of Peace member, Steve Sveom. 1 John 1:1-2:2...

July and August often bring a change of pace, a chance to step back from our hectic schedules and find moments of rest. (That’s what I’m up to this week!) In this season of respite, we have a unique opportunity to delve deeply into a profound bit of scripture and allow its truths to resonate within us. Sunday, we’ll embark on a six-week journey through the book of 1 John, titled “Complete Joy.” As we do, let’s take a moment to reflect on the significance of slowing down during these summer months.

1 John 4:19 talks about how we love one another because he loved us first. As we go forward in our everyday life it is important to not forget to love but also not forget why we love.

Yesterday, we concluded our worship series, “Created to Be” with the final calling to be disciples. We recognized that our actions of love and service are profound witnesses to the transformative power of God’s love. In a world often skeptical of religious faith, the way we live out our discipleship can speak volumes, sometimes more powerfully than words alone.

“See the holy in the ordinary,” encourages author and theologian Diana Butler Bass. As we conclude our “Created to Be” series this weekend, we’re called to remember the ways in which we seek to follow Jesus’ lead. We need Jesus, just as the world needs us. We are created to be disciples, ones who follow and encourage others onto the same path.

Today's author is Prince of Peace member and youth, Enna Wold. To me, being disruptive means using...

This weekend, our series continues with the theme “Created to Be Disruptive.” On Sunday we’ll reflect on the powerful moment when Jesus entered the temple and disrupted the status quo. In Matthew 21:12-17, Jesus overturns the tables of the money changers and drives out those who were exploiting the sacred space for profit. His actions were a bold statement against the injustices and corrupt practices that had taken root in the very heart of religious life.

I decided to connect the topic Free to a couple of scriptures. Starting with the scripture Romans 12:2 (Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.) which shows that not following the pattern of the world means breaking away from social norms and ideals to shape who you want to be, not what the world wants you to be.

I promise you, it’s a coincidence that just after our country celebrated it independence, our church happened to take on the theme “Created to Be Free.” Who would have thought that the concept of “freedom” would come to carry the amount of cultural and political baggage as it does today? But, as God’s faithful, it would truly be a shame if we confused, let alone ceded, the very definition of living free in God’s world.

On the heels of Independence Day, we shift to consider what it means to be created free, not just the privilege of living that way. On Sunday, we’ll read from Romans 12, where Paul urges us not to conform to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This transformation allows us to discern and live out God’s vision for the world as we have been made good, pleasing, and perfect.

Today's author is Retired ELCA Pastor and Prince of Peace member, Steve Sveom. 1 John 1:1-2:2...

July and August often bring a change of pace, a chance to step back from our hectic schedules and find moments of rest. (That’s what I’m up to this week!) In this season of respite, we have a unique opportunity to delve deeply into a profound bit of scripture and allow its truths to resonate within us. Sunday, we’ll embark on a six-week journey through the book of 1 John, titled “Complete Joy.” As we do, let’s take a moment to reflect on the significance of slowing down during these summer months.

1 John 4:19 talks about how we love one another because he loved us first. As we go forward in our everyday life it is important to not forget to love but also not forget why we love.

Yesterday, we concluded our worship series, “Created to Be” with the final calling to be disciples. We recognized that our actions of love and service are profound witnesses to the transformative power of God’s love. In a world often skeptical of religious faith, the way we live out our discipleship can speak volumes, sometimes more powerfully than words alone.

“See the holy in the ordinary,” encourages author and theologian Diana Butler Bass. As we conclude our “Created to Be” series this weekend, we’re called to remember the ways in which we seek to follow Jesus’ lead. We need Jesus, just as the world needs us. We are created to be disciples, ones who follow and encourage others onto the same path.

Today's author is Prince of Peace member and youth, Enna Wold. To me, being disruptive means using...

This weekend, our series continues with the theme “Created to Be Disruptive.” On Sunday we’ll reflect on the powerful moment when Jesus entered the temple and disrupted the status quo. In Matthew 21:12-17, Jesus overturns the tables of the money changers and drives out those who were exploiting the sacred space for profit. His actions were a bold statement against the injustices and corrupt practices that had taken root in the very heart of religious life.

I decided to connect the topic Free to a couple of scriptures. Starting with the scripture Romans 12:2 (Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.) which shows that not following the pattern of the world means breaking away from social norms and ideals to shape who you want to be, not what the world wants you to be.

I promise you, it’s a coincidence that just after our country celebrated it independence, our church happened to take on the theme “Created to Be Free.” Who would have thought that the concept of “freedom” would come to carry the amount of cultural and political baggage as it does today? But, as God’s faithful, it would truly be a shame if we confused, let alone ceded, the very definition of living free in God’s world.

On the heels of Independence Day, we shift to consider what it means to be created free, not just the privilege of living that way. On Sunday, we’ll read from Romans 12, where Paul urges us not to conform to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This transformation allows us to discern and live out God’s vision for the world as we have been made good, pleasing, and perfect.