WELCOMES YOU!!
The Third Sunday in Lent
7 March 2021
The third covenant in this year’s Lenten readings is the central one of Israel’s history: the gift of the law to those God freed from slavery. The commandments begin with the statement that because God alone has freed us from the powers that oppressed us, we are to let nothing else claim first place in our lives. When Jesus throws the merchants out of the temple, he is defending the worship of God alone and rejecting the ways commerce and profit-making can become our gods. The Ten Commandments are essential to our baptismal call: centered first in God’s liberating love, we strive to live out justice and mercy in our communities and the world.
After escaping from slavery, the Israelites come to Mount Sinai, where God teaches them how to live in community. The Ten Commandments proclaim that God alone is worthy of worship. Flowing from God, the life of the community flourishes when based on honesty, trust, fidelity, and respect for life, family, and property.
The commandment of the Lord gives light to the eyes. (Ps. 19:8)
The word of the cross is pure foolishness and nonsense to the world because it claims that God is mostly revealed in weakness, humiliation, and death. But through such divine foolishness and weakness, God is working to save us. The center of Paul’s preaching is Christ crucified.
Jesus attacks the commercialization of religion by driving merchants out of the temple. When challenged, he responds mysteriously, with the first prediction of his own death and resurrection. In the midst of a seemingly stable religious center, Jesus suggests that the center itself has changed.
(from Sundays and Seasons, 2021)
The Church Office is opened during the week:
Tuesdays through Fridays
10:00 am - 3:30 pm
As of Sunday, 31 January, we are now "live streaming" the worship services. Our Sunday Services are at 9:30 a.m. You can join in by signing on to the website, and click on Worship. You will see a box saying "Live Streaming." Click on that and you will see the service. If it doesn't work the first time, refresh the page and try again. The service will also be archived on the website approximately 2 hours after the live stream. You can go to the Worship page and click on the Sunday, which should be the first on the list or on the home page to the right, it will tell you the latest service you can see and if it has Sunday's date, click on that and it will take you to the service.
We will be eliminating the videotaping of the service, as long as we are live streaming and it is being archived on the website.
It will seem a little different since it is live, there is no editing such as listing the readings and the hymns. However, you will see the hymn titles and Evangelical Lutheran Worship number above the hymn. The bulletin for the Sunday is also on the website so you can print the bulletin earlier and follow along just as if you were sitting in the nave of the church.
Blessings,
Living Grace Lutheran Church
We offer in person worship every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. with Holy Communion. We adhere to safety requirements.
The Quilting Group will resume meeting on 7 January, at 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
For your information, we have made a small video of what to expect when you come to church for worship. It has been uploaded to our website. Go into the Worship Page and click on
In-person Worship Welcome
We hope this will help you with the expectations of the worship during this time.
Yours in Christ,
The Rev. David E. Hardy, D.D.