Crown of Life Lutheran Church

What hope do we have in our beloved hymns? Our new sermon series starts this week with Oh for a Thousand Tongues to Sing and what it means for us to worship with our entire lives. We find hope through Jesus who has taken away our sins and causes us to worship with our whole being.

If the first half of Matthew 18 is about how God cherishes His children who depend on Him, then the second half is about how His children are to respond to His grace and mercy. We forgive because we are forgiven. Lord, give us strength for this.  

September 13, 2023 - Galatians 6:1-2 says, "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Whether it's politics, finances, sports, or even a paint color, we are going to disagree wit...

While the disciples are arguing about which one of them is the greatest, Jesus sets forth a very different role model as “the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

September 6, 2023 - Do your kids have a song they sing on repeat all day, every day? Is there a movie you can recite word for word every time it comes on? Let us recount God's word like we do our favorite song or movie! Being in His word allows us to stay on the path of purity and keeps us talking about his promises and love for us.

As disciples of Jesus, we are called to be “middle men” for the Gospel, taking what we’ve received from Jesus and sharing it with those around us. 

“What is a disciple? This week we’ll ask this question and see what it means for Jesus. As Jesus calls Peter and Andrew, Jesus reveals that a disciple is someone who is following Jesus, is being changed by Jesus, and is on mission with Jesus.”   

August 23, 2023 - The theme of Psalm 78 is the goodness and kindness of God to His stubborn and rebellious people.

As we start this new sermon series: “Journey Together,” it is important that the reason God established and sustains the Church is that we would proclaim the Gospel message to the world and to encourage one another to confess that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.  

August 16, 2023 - We are creatures created to do great works and share the mission of God, so be joyful doing so. 

As we celebrate the beginning of the school year, we focus on our school theme this year: “All In.” We’ll look at what it means to be “all in” for our faith, and how we often fall short. More importantly, we remember and rest in the fact that God is “all in” on us, sending His Son to redeem us. 

Pastor Travis Hartjen, Guest Speaker Jesus, when confronted with people in need, was moved by compassion to do something. What does that kind of compassion look like for us? 

What is your deepest fear? Often our deepest fear holds us back from the fullest life that God has created us to experience. Paul reminds us that we are More Than Conquerors because of Jesus. He tells us that we don’t have to fear because nothing… not death, demons, or the depths can keep us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

The second part of Romans 8 describes the Christian life as one of faith that longs for what is promised and endures present suffering. It is a life of hope that keeps in mind what is promised but what is not yet seen.

July 19, 2023 - Why and How We Express Our Faith Salvation is meant for all people, so we want to share that with everyone so they can experience God's mercy and grace. More importantly, we are commanded to be a witness. We express our faith through creeds - summaries of scripture, based on the works of God (not based on our own feelings or today's culture).

God uses all kinds of analogies to depict His saving love for us. In our Romans text for Sunday, we’ll explore the comfort and confidence of knowing that God has adopted us into His divine family. Because of Christ, we can boldly come to Him and say ‘Abba, Father.’

Pastor Mike Mattil brings us the message this Sunday asking the question: The Devil made me do it? We’ll look at our motivations and how our struggles are often influenced by inner and outer forces. Ultimately, we find our source of motivation and comfort from Jesus. 

This week we explore the idea of joining God’s family tree. We are grafted on through the promise of Christ, but we must abide in Christ and his presence. 

June 28, 2023 - The call on the Christian is to forgive. However, we struggle to let go because of the pain and hurt it caused us. Because it hurts to forgive and it’s natural to hold on, we should look to Jesus. We are meant for more, to live freely in His grace– to let go and forgive.

Now what? Since we have been justified by the grace of God won for us in Jesus, how then shall we live? That’s the subject Paul tackles in Romans 6. This Sunday, we’ll explore the sanctified life and our struggle to live in the freedom given to us in Jesus.

June 21, 2023 - We see and experience conflict in the world, as well as in our own lives. We escalate conflict by pushing back and in turn we can't build relationships with others. We've gotten to a point where we don't treat people like humans if we feel like they treated us poorly or disrespected us. Instead of escalating conflict we should be building relationships so we can point o...

Suffering is part of life, but as Christians, we have a sure and certain hope that Jesus who died to forgive us will also deliver us out of suffering and into His perfect Kingdom. In the meantime, we endure hardship knowing that God uses it to grow us into His disciples. 

We're not going to understand everything that happens. Our calling is to trust God and run to him.

Our guest speaker this Sunday is Rev. Dr. Tilahun Mendedo, who serves as the Associate Executive Director for Lutheran Bible Translators. Tilahun was born and raised in Ethiopia and knows the value of the heart language to communicate God’s promises. Rev. Mendedo spearheaded the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus effort to develop a strong, accredited training system. The effort utilizes ma...

June 7, 2023 - Scripture not only points us to our good works but they point us to God’s great grace. Instead of wondering what heaven and hell look like, focus on the charge we have right now: to go and love our neighbor.