Author: Pastor Aleese Kenitzer

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Blog: I Will Raise It Up

“Destroy this temple,” Jesus said in our Gospel passage from Sunday, “and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19). 

Literally, Jesus wasn’t talking about the physical temple in Jerusalem. Instead, he was figuratively speaking of the temple of his body – the place where God and all of God’s glory dwelled. In the moment, Jesus’ disciples wouldn’t understand. It would only be after Jesus’ death and resurrection that they would believe the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. 

Which, can we really blame ’em for not understanding? For the disciples, they had no idea what was going to happen in the years to come. And for the readers of John’s Gospel – reading John’s story of the Gospel message decades after Christ’s death and resurrection, and decades after their beloved temple had been destroyed by the Romans – they found themselves surrounded by nothing but destruction. 

So a message that Jesus could raise something up that was completely destroyed? Completely dead? It would’ve sounded like foolishness. Indeed, nonsense. And yet, that is the core message of the Christian faith: that God brings about new life – indeed, resurrection – even in the face of complete and utter de-construction and death. 

As people who know the “end of the story” – knowing where we’ll journey with Christ during Holy Week – we know this promse of life to be true for Jesus. But the thing is, this promise of new life coming from what seems to be completely lifeless is not just for Jesus. And this promise is not just for when our physical life on this earth is complete. Rather, this promise of new life is something that has been given to us, as members of the living body of Christ – indeed, as people in whom God’s glory now dwells today. 

So, though I realize that we’re not quite at Easter yet, what would it be like for us to look at our lives, look around our world, and look around the church and dare to believe that there is still a possibility for new life – for resurrection – to come from what is seemingly de-constructed? It might not be easy to see it – nor trust it – at first glance. But turning ourselves to Christ and his cross, even there – even in the face of what might seem to be nothing but de-construction, in faith – we just might see more than meets the eye. Indeed, we just might see the possibility…and the promise…of God’s Kingdom.

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Worship: I Will Raise It Up

John 2:13-22 | On average, it takes 9 months to build a home. Construction takes time. But, according to Jesus in our Gospel lesson, he can build an entire temple in a mere three days! At least, that’d be the literal interpretation. But, as we discover, Jesus isn’t referring to a physical building; he’s referring to himself as the temple that is filled with the glory of God. Knowing the “end of the story” – the coming of Christ’s death and resurrection – it might be one thing for us to look at this passage and nod with approval that Jesus was simply pointing to himself as the dwelling place of God. But much like the early Christians who would’ve heard this gospel passage, are there not times in which we struggle to know where and how to encounter the dwelling place of God? And, amid seeming de-construction, are there not times in which we struggle to hold onto the hope of God’s resurrection promise? On our own, we cannot encounter the truth of God. But by the power of the Holy Spirit, and gathered in community, we can be reminded of God’s ongoing work within us and around us. So this weekend, join us for worship as we once again hear – and receive – Christ’s promise given to us and as we are sent forth to become Christ’s living body as vehicles of God’s Kingdom.  

Sunday, March 3, 2024, Third Sunday in Lent Bulletin

Copyright acknowledgments: Music covered under Augsburg Fortress License #SB135131, CCLI License #1141706, One License #738128-A. Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. Prelude: What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2011 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Gathering Song: Built on a Rock. Text: Nikolai F. S. Grundtvig, 1783-1872; Carl Doving, 1867-1937, adapted. Music: Ludvig M. Lindeman, 1812-1887. Text and Music: © 1958 Augsburg Fortress Publishers. Covered under One License subscription. Hymn of the Day: Beneath the Cross of Jesus. Text: Elizabeth C. Clephane, 1830-1869. Music: Frederick C. Maker, 1844-1927. Text and Music: Public Domain. Offering Song: Jesus Paid It All. Text and Music: Mark Hayes, Marvin Gaspard. Text and Music: © 2017 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Communion Song: Blessed Assurance. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2011 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Sending Song: The Wonderful Cross. Text: Isaac Watts, J. D. Walt, and Chris Tomlin. Music: Lowell Mason, Chris Tomlin, and Jesse Reeves. Text and Music: © 2000 Rising Springs Music, Vamos Publishing. Covered under CCLI
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Blog: Death and Resurrection

Perhaps it seems too early to talk about both death and resurrection. We’re still weeks away from Holy Week! But if you’ve been noticing creation around you lately, you’ve seen signs of death and resurrection. And if you were in worship this past weekend with us, you heard signs of death and resurrection as Jesus predicted that he would suffer, be rejected, die, and rise again. 

The message of Christ’s death and resurrection is central to our faith as Christians. And yet, often, it seems we want to skip to the good part (for any millenials and Gen Z-ers out there with me, cue “The Good Part” from AJR). It’s our inclination to focus on life, promise, hope, and light. Which, absolutely we should focus on those things, for we have already been given the promise of abundant and eternal life – even now! But as we see in nature around us, for something new to spring forth from the ground, first, something needs to die away (or, at least, something needs to go dormant for a few months). 

To talk about death isn’t the “popular” thing to do – whether talking about “death” literally or figuratively. But, if we’re not ready to die – or, if we’re not ready for something within us and around us to die, then we also aren’t ready for true resurrection to happen. 

So as we continue through this season of Lent, I encourage you to prayerfully consider: Is there something within me that needs to die so that I can experience resurrection and newness of life? Or, is there something in the world around me that needs to die so that others can experience resurrection and newness of life? And, is there anything within the church that needs to die so that we can embody and experience the fullness of Christ’s life for us, and for all the world? 

These are challenging questions. And yet, as we heard in our Gospel lesson this past Sunday, it is only by taking up our cross, by following Jesus, and by denying ourselves, that we will experience the fullness of God’s life for us, and for the world. 

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Worship: Third Step into Lent – Put Your Whole Self In

Mark 8:31-38 | During the season of Lent, some choose to “give something up” as a way of fasting. But as we heard Jesus predict his coming death and resurrection, it’s clear that Jesus isn’t just giving “something” up. Jesus (in fact, God) is giving everything up for the sake of our life, and the life of the world. So, in response to this covenant God has made with us, then what does it mean for us to give ourselves – fully – to Jesus as we hear his call to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow? Join us for worship this weekend as we receive God’s promise given to us, and as we are sent forth to faithfully follow – giving up not just “something” of our lives to the Lord, but our full selves.

Sunday, February 25, 2024, Second Sunday in Lent Bulletin

Copyright acknowledgments: Music covered under Augsburg Fortress License #SB135131, CCLI License #1141706, One License #738128-A. Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. Prelude: I Want Jesus to Walk with Me. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2006 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Gathering Song: If You But Trust in God to Guide You. Text and Music: Georg Neumark, 1621-1681. Text and Music: © 2006 Augsburg Fortress Publishers. Covered under One License subscription. Hymn of the Day: Take Up Your Cross, the Savior Said. Text: Charles W. Everest, 1814-1877, alt. Music: W. Hauser, Hesperian Harp, 1848; arr. hymnal version. Text and Music: © 2006 Augsburg Fortress. Covered under One License subscription. Offering Song: Jesus I Will Ponder Now. Text: Sigismund von Birken, 1626-1681; tr August Crull, 1846-1923, alt. Music: Melchior Vulpius, 1570-1615. Text and Music: Public Domain. Communion Song: Take Up Your Cross. Text and Music: Jaime Cortez. Text and Music: © 2014 OCP Publications. Covered under One License subscription. Sending Song: Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus. Text: Sigismund von Birken, 1626-1681; tr. Lutheran Book of Worship, alt. Music: Georg G. Boltze, 18th cent. Text and Music: © 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship, admin. Augsburg Fortress. Covered under One License subscription.

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Blog: Stepping Into Lent: Repent and Trust the Good News

Sometimes the season of Lent can feel like a “downer” of a season. Don’t get me wrong: self-examination, confession, repentance, and dedicating ourselves to the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, and giving are important. These things help us prepare ourselves to fully recieve God’s abundant mercy through Christ’s death and resurrection during Holy Week. 

But even as we go through the season of Lent, that doesn’t mean that God’s mercy, faithfulness, and provision are absent. 

In our Gospel lesson this past weekend, we discovered that even in less than ideal circumstances, God was closer than it may have appeared. In Jesus’ baptism, God tore through the heavens – tearing through the barrier between God and God’s people, and whatever inhibited the kingdom of God from enveloping the whole world. Then, as Jesus was driven into the wilderness, even there God’s provision was closer than it might’ve appeared as Jesus was waited on by the angels. And finally, as Jesus came out of the wilderness, the first thing he publicly proclaimed was that “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near.” 

In six short verses in Mark, it’s clear that God, God’s provision, and God’s Kingdom has come near. It’s already happened, and at the same time, we await the fullness of God’s salvation to all the world. 

So then, if all these things are as close as they are to us, how does that impact us? Well, for God, God’s provision, and God’s Kingdom to be as near to us as they are will inevitably shape our lives and our perspective of the world. But in addition to that, in response to God’s nearness, now we are called to repent. All too often “repentance” is a word that is forgotten. But this Good News of Jesus Christ – the nearness of God – is to change us, completely! Which, ultimately, is what repentance is all about. Repentance literally means to change one’s mind, one’s heart, and one’s being. Not just once, but as a way of life, and as a posture in which we present ourselves to God as a grateful response.

So as we continue into the Lenten season, consider what it would mean for you to turn yourself to Christ as a way of life. To do so might ask something of us. It likely won’t be without some growing pains (as we’ll discover next week in worship). But in turning ourselves to Christ, we will be turning ourselves to the only source of life and hope. 

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Worship: First Step into Lent – A Broken and Contrite Heart

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17 | Each year, the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday: a day that we remember we are dust and to dust we return. This recognition leads us to repentance, to return to the Lord our God with broken and contrite hearts. But that is only the first step of our Lenten journey. For the point of confession, of repentance, and of each and every Lenten discipline is to prepare us to receive the abounding mercy, healing and forgiveness of our God through Christ’s cross. So as you begin another holy season of Lent, join us for worship as together we offer our confession and as we look in hope for God to uphold God’s covenant to us.

Wednesday, February 14, 2024, Ash Wednesday Bulletin

Copyright acknowledgments: Music covered under Augsburg Fortress License #SB135131, CCLI License #1141706, One License #738128-A. Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. Prelude: Christ, Revive Us Again. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2011 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Opening Litany: O Lord, Hear My Prayer. Text: Psalm 102:1-2; Taizé Community, adapt. Music: Jacques Berthier, 1923-1994. Text and Music: © 1982, 1991 Le Presses de Taizé, admin. GIA Publications, Inc. Covered under One License subscription. Gathering Song: O Lord Throughout These Forty Days. Text: based on Claudie F. Hernaman, 1838-1898; para. Gilbert E. Doan Jr., b. 1930. Music: A. Davisson, Kentucky Harmony, 1816;arr. Theodore A. Beck, 1929-2003. Text: © 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship, admin. Augsburg Fortress. Arr. © 1969 Concordia Publishing House.  Covered under One License subscription. Hymn of the Day: Our Father, We Have Wandered. Text: Kevin Nichols, 1929-2006. Music: Hans Leo Hassler, 1564-1612; arr. Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750. Text: © 1981 International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. Covered under One License subscription. Imposition of Ashes: Just As I Am. Text and music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2022 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Offering: Be Thou My Vision. Text and music: Carlton R. Young. Text and Music: © 1964 United Methodist Publishing House/Abingdon Press. Covered under One License subscription. Communion Songs: Return to God. Text and Music: Marty Haugen. Text and Music © 1990, 1991 GIA Publications, Inc. Covered under One License subscription. Sending Song: Bless Now, O God, the Journey. Text: Sylvia G. Dunstan, 1955-1993. Music: Welsh tune, 19th cent. Text: © 1991 GIA Publications, Inc. Music: Public Domain. Covered under One License subscription.

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Blog: Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day Together?

If it feels strange to you for Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday to fall on the same day, you’re not alone. It’s not often that the two coincide. And on the surface, it would seem as though the two have nothing in common. Ash Wednesday is commonly a day of fasting from extravagence, and Valentine’s Day is about pulling out all the stops with flowers, candy, and fancy meals. And going a bit deeper, Ash Wednesday is a day that we remember our mortality, our sin, our frailty, and our brokenness, while Valentine’s day focuses on life and love and happiness. 

So can ashes and candy hearts really go together?! Maybe. Hear me out. 

During Lent, the invitation is given for us to “return to the Lord your God” (Joel 2) and to “be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20). We do that through confession, fasting, prayer, giving, and repentance. All things that we need to do as we live in relationship with God and one another. But those things are only a healthy spiritual discipline if those things turn us back to the love of God and turn us to love our neighbor. If those things only make us navel-gaze, bemoaning our sinful selves, those practices are not doing what they were meant to do. And, if our Ash Wednesday observance ends only with confession and repentance, and we never allow ourselves to receive the grace, forgiveness, and love of God, we’ve missed the mark. Because even on Ash Wednesday night, as ashes are marked on our brows as a reminder of our mortality and our sin, those ashes will be made in the sign of a cross: the sign of God’s abounding love who is slow to anger and relents from punishing (Joel 2:12-13). 

So as you come to Ash Wednesday this week, if you’re coming from other Valentine’s Day festivities, so be it. And, if your mind is on “love,” then so be it. Because at the core, Ash Wednesday is all about love…a love that goes deeper than the surface. For through Jesus Christ, God is offering you more than a Hallmark card and a box of conversation hearts; rather, God is offering you his faithfulness, his steadfastness, and his mercy in a way that no greeting card could ever capture. 

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Worship: Changed for Good

Mark 9:2-9 | There are moments within our lives that change us. For some, those moments are when a child is born, when a new culture is experienced, or when a new possibility opens up before us. Whatever that moment is like, there’s a possibility for that experience to shape our trajectory forward. So, if those moments still do happen in our lives, then what do we have to say, as people of faith, when we experience the very glory of God? When we see Jesus? Or when the Spirit reveals something new? Do we allow these experiences to transform and transfigure us on our journeys of faith? As we look to the coming season of Lent, join us for worship as we once again behold the glory of our God, as we consider how we have witnessed God’s power, and as we look in anticipation for the fullness of God’s glory revealed to us in Christ’s death and resurrection.

Sunday, February 11, 2024, Transfiguration of Our Lord Sunday Bulletin

Copyright acknowledgments: Music covered under Augsburg Fortress License #SB135131, CCLI License #1141706, One License #738128-A. Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. Prelude: Gather Us In. Text and Music: Marty Haugen. Text and Music: © 1982 GIA Publications, Inc. Covered under One License subscription. & Build Us Up, Lord. Text and Music: Donna Hanna, Mark Glaeser. Text and Music: © 2003 Augsburg Fortress Publishers. Covered under One License subscription. Gathering Song: Christ, Be Our Light. Text and Music: Bernadette Farrell. Text and Music: © 1993 OCP Publications. Covered under One License subscription. Hymn of the Day: Shine, Jesus, Shine. Text and Music: Graham Kendrick. Text and Music: © 1987 Jubilate Music. Covered under One License subscription. Offering Song: Come to the Mountain. Text and Music: Scott Tunseth, Kathy Donlan Tunseth. Text and Music: © 1996 Augsburg Fortress Publishers. Covered under One License subscription. Communion Song: Beautiful Savior. Text and Music: Munster Gesangbuch, David Allen. Text and Music: © 1979 Fred Bock Music Company. Covered under One License subscription. Sending Song: We Are Marching in the Light of God. Text and Music: Anders Nyberg, South African traditional; Freedom Is Coming, 1984. Text and Music: © 1984 Walton Music. Covered under One License subscription. Postlude: The Trees of the Field. Text and Music: Stuart Dauermann, Steffi Geiser Rubin. Text and Music: © 1975 Lillenas Publishing Company. Covered under One License subscription.

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Blog: Have you not known? Have you not heard?

Have you not known? Have you not heard? Caitlin Clark became the all-time leading scorer in Big 10 history and the No. 2 all-time scoring leader in division 1 women’s basketball history last Thursday. 

Have you not known? Have you not heard? Last Friday, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, meaning that spring is right around the corner. 

Have you not known? Have you not heard? Two weekends ago our very own Kelsey Allen received platinum and third overall for her dance solo, and Hannah Booth’s hip hop Whoville team won first overall at finals. 

Have you not known? Have you not heard? 

Each of these things have happened fairly recently, even if a week ago for some of ’em. And some things – unless you stay caught up with every news agency, every weather app, every social media post, and what every kid in our congregation is up to these days – were likely new news to you. 

But in our Old Testament reading from Sunday, when Isaiah speaks to the Israelites, beginning with the “Have you not known? Have you not heard?” in reference to all the things that God had already done, none of what Isaiah is saying would’ve been new news to the people. Isaiah is simply reminding the Israelites of God’s promises from the beginning of time, and Isaiah is reminiding them of God’s continued promise to protect and provide for them as a people. 

And yet, for the Israelites, all of that would’ve seemed like new news to them. Because finding themselves in exile in a foriegn land, they felt as though God had abandoned them. So for God to provide for them? This wasn’t only new news…but on the verge of unbelievable news. 

For us today, when we read promises of God from Scripture, our first inclination may be to believe them and claim them firmly as our own. But , when we find ourselves challenged, when things aren’t panning out as we expected, or when the economy, or a person, or even the church fails us, it may be easier than we think for God’s promises to sound like unbelievable news. Because with everything going on in our lives, in our world, and in our church, could God possible do anything anymore to bring about something new? 

That’s the question the Israelites struggled with. And, if we’re honest with ourselves, I think that’s the question that we sometimes struggle with as we look at our lives, the world, and even the church. But the promise that comes through the prophet Isaiah is that even when we can’t believe God’s promises on our own, God will continue to act. And God will continue to remind us of God’s ever-present faithfulness.

So have you not known? Have you not heard? God has not given up on you, nor this world, nor the church. So take heart, because God is about to do a new thing. 

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Worship: Restored to Serve

Mark 1:29-39 | This weekend we hear the story of Jesus healing Simon’s mother-in-law. Being told of her fever, Jesus comes to her, takes her by the hand, and lifts her up. Still today, Jesus also comes to us, takes us by the hand, and raises us up to newness of life. But then what? For Simon’s mother-in-law, immediately after being healed, she began to serve them. So then, what about us? As people who also have been touched by Christ, do we have the gumption to be lifted up into service? Join us this weekend as once again we receive God’s gift of life through Word and Sacrament, and as we are commissioned to live as servants so that the message of God’s Kingdom can be both proclaimed and experienced by even more people.

Sunday, February 4, 2024, Fifth Sunday of Epiphany Bulletin

Copyright acknowledgments: Music covered under Augsburg Fortress License #SB135131, CCLI License #1141706, One License #738128-A. Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. Prelude: Holy, Holy, Holy. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2006 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Gathering Song: You Are Holy. Text and Music: Per Harling, b. 1945. Text and Music: © 1990 Tom Vis Production AB, admin. Augsburg Fortress. Covered under One License subscription. Hymn of the Day: Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness. Text: Rust Edwards, b. 1955. Music: J. Wyeth, Repository of Sacred Music, Part II, 1813. Text and Music: © 1987 Hope Publishing Company. Covered under One License subscription. Offering Song: The Lily of the Valley. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2013 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Communion Song: He Will Give the Weary Strength. Text and Music: Ellie Holcomb. Text and Music: © 2013 Full Heart Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing). Covered under CCLI subscription. Sending Song: I’m So Glad Jesus Lifted Me. Text and Music: African American spiritual. Text and Music: Public Domain.

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