LaGrave Church

God's message to John is a cryptic one, in order that only followers understand. The message of strength and weakness for back then and right now. Rev. Peter Jonker leads our service. The Scripture passage is Revelation 4.

The crowd is a body, a character in the book of Mark. We see the ebb and flow of this crowd. They love Jesus one day, and the next they want him crucified. But Christ has compassion on the crowd and transforms it. We continue our Lenten Series "Christ Alone". Rev. Peter Jonker leads our service. The Scripture passage is Mark 15: 6-15.

Memory is a tool of reconciliation and of the evil one. Our Psalm passage reminds us of the pain of memory while Isaiah offers us hope in God's forgetfulness. Rev. Peter Jonker leads our service. The Scripture passages are Psalm 25:1-7, Isaiah 65:17-19.

Christ's revelation of himself to the religious leaders leads to a different type of religious leader. It reveals how we should live our lives, whether we are the religious leader or not. We continue our Lenten Series "Christ Alone". Rev. Peter Jonker leads our service. The Scripture passage is Mark 14: 53-65.

We look at the transfiguration, usually reserved for the end of Lent, at the beginning. This allows us to see with different eyes. Guest minister, Chaplain Klaas Walhout, The Scripture passage is Luke 9: 28-36.

Family is a great source of support, but it is a lousy foundation. Why? Because family is an idol. We must find our foundation in Christ. If we do that, our family is better for it. We start our Lenten Series "Jesus Alone". Rev. Peter Jonker leads our service. The Scripture passage is Mark 3: 20-21, 31-35.

The conclusion of our series comes with two invitations from Jesus. These invitations put us either in the position of Matthew or in the camp of the Pharisees. Which are you today? We conclude our Epiphany series "Window on the Word". Rev. Kristy Manion leads our service. The Scripture passage is Matthew 9: 9-13.

The Psalms are there for a variety of reasons. Psalm 88 is there to remind us how to respond when we are in the darkest places. Seminarian and Pastoral Care Associate, Chad Boorsma, leads our service. The Scripture passage is Psalm 88.

The line we walk as Christians divides our life here on earth and the kingdom of Heaven. In this sermon, we are taught what giving to God what is His looks like in contrast to giving back to the government. We continue our Epiphany series "Window on the Word. Rev. Mike Hoogeboom leads our service. The Scripture passage is Matthew 22: 15-22.

We hear from Steve Mulder, regional director for the Climate Witness Project of the Christian Reformed Church and his granddaughter Annika. Steve focuses on the impact of the climate crisis on subsistence farmers in Kenya and Uganda and what they are doing to mitigate and adapt. Join us to hear his stories about the people he met while visiting Kenya and Uganda and why we in Grand Rapids should ta...

In this sermon, we see how wealth and the kingdom of heaven conflict. The center of wealth is working, achieving, having, and getting. But the center of the kingdom of heaven is self-sacrificial love. We continue our Epiphany series "Window on the Word. Rev. Peter Jonker leads our service. The Scripture passage is Matthew 19: 16-26.

Cleansing rituals are a far cry from our experience. However, the cleansing ritual we discuss is intimately connected to the forever enemy, death. The Israelites combatted death with ashes. How do we? Rev. Peter Jonker leads our service. The Scripture passage is Numbers 19.

Dr. Amanda Benckhuysen, CRCNA Director of Safe Church Ministry, uses a case study to discuss what it would take for a person who experienced abuse to feel safer in a church, specifically LaGrave.

Jesus clears the temple with zeal. Do we want to know the zealous Jesus? Does it make us uncomfortable? We return to our Epiphany series "Window on the Word. Rev. Kristy Manion leads our service. The Scripture passage is John 2:13-22.

As a group, we find someone to put all the blame on. Through the rage, that person is put out from the group. Christ takes on all of the rage and becomes our scapegoat. Rev. Peter Jonker leads our service. The Scripture passage is Leviticus 16:6-22.

Author, speaker, prayer mobilizer, Jolene DeHeer, leads our discussion on joy. Joy is hard to find these days. Jolene offers three topics of discussion: understanding what joy is and is not, roadblocks to joy, and ways to embrace joy even in the hard times.

When we look at the world, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the darkness. We can lose ourselves in that darkness. However, God is light. That light is in the world. Guest minister, Rev. Duane Kelderman, leads our service. The Scripture passage is Psalm 36.

Abram makes the generous choice to give Lot dibs on the land they come to. However, we see that there is more to the decision in this sermon. Rev. Peter Jonker leads our service. The Scripture passage is Genesis 13:1-18.

Just like the disciples, we fear for our safety and survival. However, we know who is in our boat with us. When we know that, we can face the storm and do kingdom work in the midst of it. We continue our Epiphany Sermon Series: Windows on the Word. Rev. Peter Jonker leads our service. The Scripture passage is Luke 8:22-25.

When Jesus is tempted, we hear that he was prepared in two ways from his time of fasting: 1. Savoring God's presence, and 2. Meditating on God's Word. Seminarian and Pastoral Care Associate, Chad Boorsma, leads our service. The Scripture passage is Matthew 4:1-11.

We continue our discussion about re-habiting our lives. Our spiritual life is formed by our daily practices. Is there something you'd like to adjust? Have you looked at how you're formed? Rev. Mike Hoogeboom and Growing U Coordinator Emily Redder lead our discussion.

The mustard seed and tree reveal the kingdom of God. If you only focus on the seed, you lose an intricate part of the parable. We continue our Epiphany Sermon Series: Windows on the Word. Rev. Peter Jonker leads our service. The Scripture passage is Matthew 13:31-32.

Epiphany is the official end to the Christmas celebration, and the start of the Epiphany season. We usually don't hold a baptism during this particular service. However, Christmas, Epiphany, and baptisms all bear witness to God's faithfulness to his covenant promises. We celebrate Epiphany together with a candlelight service. Rev. Peter Jonker leads our service. The title of the sermon is "Baptism...

A new year often brings the desire to change habits. Prof. James K.A. Smith presents that growth in the Christian life is a matter of “rehabituation”: re-“habit”-ing our hearts to love what God loves. But we can’t think our way to new habits. Instead, new habits of the heart are shaped by disciplines and practices that recalibrate our affections. We explore why the embodied, communal practices of...

Jesus responds differently to two groups of people, those in the general crowd and those who are to be disciples. Are you one of the crowd? Or are you a disciple? We continue our Epiphany Sermon Series: Windows on the Word. Rev. Peter Jonker leads our service. The Scripture passage is Luke 5:1-11.