Walnut Grove Lutheran Church Podcasts

What is the goal of human life? To gather wealth, gain power, or be liked? None of these things will matter in a hundred years. Jesus offers us a much greater vision for our life, for now and forever. He saved us from our short-sighted flaws and failures so we could be celebrating and singing praises at the end of time. And we get to invite others to join the choir. (Based on Rev. 7:9-17.)

Having a passionate faith is a wondrous thing for our heart soars with joy as we experience intimacy with God. But our passionate faith often fades, especially when we face challenges, and then our heart wanders away and begins to love created things instead of the Creator. How do we get back to loving God primarily and passionately? By remembering all that he has done, is doing, and will do for us. (Based on Rev. 2:1-11.)

We tend to think of love primarily as an emotion, but true love always expresses itself in action, doing what is best for our beloved, even when we aren’t feeling “love” in our heart. We turn away from our inherent selfishness and give ourselves to our beloved because we want to be one with them. Jesus not only loves us with the greatest love of all, he has also expanded our circle of loved ones to include everyone who believes in him. Jesus has made all of us one with him and one with each other. Therefore, we love one another. (Based on 1 John 3:11-24.)

With all the disorder in and around us, it is hard for us to have peace. Who can calm the storm within our heart? Jesus. He has defeated all the threats we face and gives us a greater and grander new life with him. How do we know this is true? Because Jesus has risen from the dead. How do we receive peace from Jesus? Through faith in him. (Based on John 20:19-31.)

The natural inclination of humans is to think that the path to greatness requires gathering more: more power, more wealth, more people, and more possessions. But Jesus shows us that true greatness is found on a Path of Sacrifice. As we give up our lives for Jesus’ mission to love, restore and renew the world, we find that he has given us a life that is greater than anything we could ever ask or imagine. (Based on John 12:20-33.)

Bombarded by online scammers and opposing opinions on paths to health and wholeness, we are naturally skeptical. How do we know who really has our best interests at heart? The One who laid down his life for us to give us eternal life with him. Let’s listen to his voice and follow him. (Based on John 10:1-10, 27-30.)

This Sunday, we continue to celebrate the birth of our Savior in song as the choir blesses us with their Christmas Cantata. As we begin this New Year, may our hearts still be filled with Christmas joy!

It may seem like life has no meaning or purpose, but the Bible tells us that God created all things and still loves this world even though it has fallen into brokenness. He is directing human history toward a Grand Conclusion when He will restore and renew all things for a new forever life with him. And we find our purpose in life when we find our place in His story. (Based on Rev. 20:11-21:7.)

It might seem gloomy to think of the Day of the Lord in the days leading up to Christmas. But this broken world needs to be set right, and the Messiah born in Bethlehem is the One who will banish all evil and make all things right, including us. The Day of the Lord is the day when our faith will be vindicated. Therefore, we can look forward to that day with hope and thankfulness. (Based on 2 Peter 3:1-13.)

Join us as the Sunday school presents “Little Benjamin and the First Christmas”. The children of Walnut Grove Lutheran church will share the story of the first Christmas in a reader theatre style. Come and see what happens when Benjamin discovers the very special guest that comes to his father’s inn.

Holiness is an impossibly high bar for us humans to reach. However, with Jesus, holiness is not an accomplishment we achieve, it is an identity we receive, an identity that will be fully revealed at the end of time when Jesus comes back to make us and all things right. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to be who God created and redeemed us to be, his holy people in this world, glorifying him in all we do. (Based on 1 Peter 1:13-25.)

Advent is all about God's preparations for Jesus first coming affirmed through Old Testament predictive prophecies.  What makes this so exciting is that all the First Coming prophecies were filled precisely, and because of that, we can look to at least 614 Old Testament prophecies about Jesus' Second Coming being fulfilled as certain as well.  On this first Sunday of Advent, our message shares the stories of Zechariah and Elisabeth, and also Mary as they encounter the angel Gabriel's prophetic message.

This Sunday our focus will be on Jesus and his teachings about the End Times. These are found in Matthew 24 and 25; Mark 13; and Luke 21. These give us the Signs of the Times. But there is so much more, as we examine Old and other New Testament scriptures. Join us as we see what Scripture says and how we as Christians try to put all these Scripture texts together.

Each day we cross another finish line, with an evaluation of how we can live and serve others and the Lord better.  It's like running a race with a finish line - a few minutes to a few hours.  But there is a final end of life finish line as well that we all must pass through. It's the one that really counts.  What are the personal and Biblical preparations we make for crossing that finish line . . . physically, mentally, health wise, home wise, care wise, spiritually, to be sure we are with our Lord.

When people don’t get what we think they deserve, we consider that to be an injustice and we are offended. But there would be no hope for humanity if God gave us what we deserve. In spite of the fact that we are all sinners, God gave us what we do not deserve: grace, his love and salvation. (Based on 1 Timothy 1:3-17.)

Being skeptical about anything that we cannot detect with our senses may seem logical, but it cuts us off from comprehending the mysterious nature of God. It takes the wisdom of faith in Jesus for us to see the wonderful treasure we have in him. (Based on Col. 2:1-15.)

God created us to live in community. We need other people and other people need us. And as we live our unique life in an interconnected and interdependent web of relationships, people are blessed, lives are enriched, and God’s kingdom grows. (Based on Philippians 1:1-11.)

The greater our need the more we appreciate a gift that meets that need. A meal is more satisfying when we are hungry. A financial gift has greater value when it wipes out our debt. In the same way, Jesus’ gift of new life is dearer to us when we realize that, without it, we were dead. (Based on Eph. 2:1-10.)

We celebrate events and accomplishments that are important to us. For a Jesus-follower, life in this world with all its challenges can seem dour. What helps us to persevere is our focus on the celebration to come at the end of time. Because of Jesus, and his death and resurrection, we already know how the story will end! (Based on Rev. 21:1-7.)

When life gets hard and our strength and energy are depleted, it is easy for us to get discouraged and consider giving up. But then we remember that we are not running alone, nor are we running in our own strength. Our hope is in the Lord, who renews our strength. (Based on 2 Tim. 4:1-8.)