Prayer During Interim Time

In both Isaiah and Matthew we read my house shall be called a house of prayer. God’s word is filled with calls to prayer, teaching on prayer, Jesus finding time and space for prayer, and beautiful prayers for all circumstances. I believe Martin Luther said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Whatever form prayer takes, it is clearly a gift, an invitation, and important to our relationship with God.

Many of you are already praying for this season in Resurrection’s life. While prayer is vital to all our days, this time of transition is an important season to grow in our prayer lives. To support and encourage you in this, and to unite us all as a house of prayer, the e-letter will contain a different prayer each week. Consider setting a specific time or place each day to pray for the local and global church. Maybe you will choose to sit with a specific Bible verse related to discernment or the future God has for us. Or some may prefer to give more time to quiet and listening, as together we ask for God’s guidance and wisdom. Please join our faith community in the call of 1 Thessalonians 5:17, to pray without ceasing.

God of grace, help us sense your presence with us as we reflect on and remember the past and live into the future you offer us. Remind us of the many ways you have provided for your people with countless blessings and amazing, steadfast love. Help us to reflect that and be loving lights to one another. Guide our steps and fill us with hope as we continue to grow into the church you call us to be. Amen.

But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:15-16

Confirmation Reflections

This past Sunday during our Confirmation service our church family joyfully celebrated twenty-one youth being confirmed.  Confirmands confessed their faith and received a blessing with family and friends surrounding them. It was a beautiful and powerful service witnessing faith in action from these young people in our congregation. 

Jaycee Goossen (9th grader), Sara Dahlager (9th grader), and Maggie Rapp (parent) shared memorable reflections of their confirmation journey as part of the celebration.  They share some of their heartfelt messages here.

Sara Dahlager shared,  "Throughout my journey in the life of Christ, I have experienced many paths in my faith. I have come to learn that God and Jesus are my friends and not just my Savior.  My faith has led me to a confirmation group of people who love and support each other. When I first started Confirmation I was a shy, short little seventh grader.  Over time it has let me experience different sides of myself through my participation in retreats, singing, and learning a deeper knowledge of God and Jesus. A very special memory was doing skits at one of the stations for The Last Supper.  That is where I first learned about my love of theatre.  I wear a bracelet that I often wear on my wrist that says "Jesus", reminds me of where my journey has led me.  Now I am still short but I am more confident in myself, knowing that God is behind everything that I do.  I am looking forward to continue growing as a child of God after I get confirmed." 

Jaycee Goossen shared, "Confirmation has opened a door for me to learn more about Christ.  Confirmation has also promoted some new questions like, "Why do I believe what I believe?” and “Who is Christ to me?”. Confirmation gave me a support group in my life for whenever anything was going on that I could not handle on my own.  It was my second year of confirmation that changed my life. That year I could really focus on what being a Christian means to me.  Being a follower of Christ is actually just like it sounds - it means that you believe and know in your heart that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and is always there for us in our darkest hour and in the best moments.  The people who are sitting to your left and right, who are in front of you, or behind you are your support group and are your brothers and sisters in Christ.  So whenever you are going through a tough time, just remember you are not alone."

Praise God for growing mature faith-filled young people in this church! We are blessed to journey alongside our youth here at Resurrection, and excited to continue to journey alongside our current 7th and 8th grade Confirmation students.  All current parents of 7th and 8th graders are invited to a parent meeting on Wednesday, October 28 at 6:15pm to learn about the Faith Inkubators: Head to the Heart curriculum. We are excited for what is in store.

Written by: Hannah Koehler