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Mid-week Prayer

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Read: Acts 6:1-7

Reflect: The church leaders were busy proclaiming the good news of the risen Jesus. The Holy Spirit was busy too – inspiring those leaders and opening the hearts and minds of those who heard their message. As a result, many believed and were baptized. But with the growing numbers of believers there was less time and energy to care for the needs of the most vulnerable among them. The solution: to set apart for special service faithful individuals with gifts for serving those in need. In this way, the message of God’s abundant love made known in Jesus would be shared not just through preaching and teaching, but also through deeds of compassion and mercy.

Two thousand years later, the church is still setting apart such persons for special service – we call them deacons. Frequently (but not always) they serve in food pantries and soup kitchens, hospitals and nursing homes, and shelters for unhoused neighbors. Deacons don’t relieve the rest of us from our responsibility to act wherever we find God’s children in need of help, hope, or advocacy. Instead, the Holy Spirit empowers and guides them to lead us in this work by their own examples of faithfulness and generosity.

Prayer: God of compassion, your Son came among us not to be served but to serve. We give you thanks for those whom you have called to the ministry of word and service [especially

name/s ]. Give to all deacons faith to serve you with gladness; sustain them with a living hope, especially in times of despair; and kindle in them your love, so that they see in every neighbor the face of Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen. (from All Creation Sings, p. 46. ©2020 Augsburg Fortress, used by permission.)

Mid-week Prayer

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Read: John 4:1-14

Reflect: Giant Springs State Park is located just outside Great Falls, MT. The park itself is a beautiful place to picnic, walk, or just enjoy the outdoors. The best part, however is the water. Giant Springs is one of the largest freshwater springs in the United States. Every day, approximately 156 million gallons of water flow up out of the rocks before making a 200 ft. journey to the Missouri River. The water is crystal clear, warm enough to sustain water plants year-round, and the sound of its flow brings a sense of peacefulness and calm.

In his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus describes himself as being just such a source of abundance, peace, and life. The water he gives has the power to cleanse us from guilt and shame. He strengthens and sustains us through all the challenges and seasons of our lives. He renews us for life one hour, one day at a time. He speaks words of peace that can silence the world’s noise and calm our restless lives. The abundance of his love never runs dry.

Prayer: God our source, our hearts are restless until we find our rest in you. As Jesus once offered living water to a Samaritan woman at the well, so we ask you to meet our deepest needs with your eternal life. Help us to honestly name the desires that have power over us. Forgive us our injuries to self and other. Give us the strength we need to face each day. Direct our thoughts and actions toward the life that truly is life. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. (from All Creation Sings, p. 53. ©2020 Augsburg Fortress, used by permission.)

Memorial Day

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Read: Isaiah 2:4

Reflect: This week we observed Memorial Day – a national day set aside to remember all who have died in service to this country. It is good for us to remember the cost of war in terms of lives lost. It is also good for us to count the cost of war as it is measured by those who survive, yet continue to suffer from wounds that are not always obvious. As we remember our dead, let us also remember the living. Let us pray for our own and for our enemies, that one day nations will no longer lift up swords against each other, or learn war any more.

Prayer: Holy God, you call us forward into a day of peace between nations; a time when war is no longer taught or sought. So many have died in the defense of liberty. We remember them with love and thanksgiving. Open our hearts to care for those who struggle to heal from wounds we can see… and the ones that remain invisible. Strengthen and support the families of our service members. Teach us all your lasting way of peace. We pray in the name of the one who is our Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

An Easter Reflection (see Matthew 28:1-10)

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According to Matthew, the Easter story is all about God: God’s power and love and what God has done for the world in raising Jesus from the dead. And about how God has come out in full force against the powers of sin, and death and the grave. The battle is engaged once and for all, and God is unquestionably the victor! Jesus lives! Alleluia!

Easter is also a story about us. It’s about how God chooses to work in and through the whole of creation in the cause of bringing new life from death. It’s about how the good news of Jesus’ resurrection is able to transform our grief and despair into hope and great joy. It’s about how our proper response (like that of the women) is one of worship and obedience EVEN in the face of things we don’t fully understand. It’s about being eager and courageous as we tell others what God in Christ has done for us, inviting them to “come and see” him for themselves.

The invitation is there for you, too. Come and see!

THANKSGIVING

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Read:  Psalm 104

Reflect:  When you hear the word “Thanksgiving”, what images come to mind?  Is it a table loaded up with turkey, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, and all the other fixings?  Do you picture a multi-generational family gathering?  A day of watching football or parades?  Or do you imagine a state of gratitude that shapes and guides your daily life?  Although the 1954 musical White Christmas is set in the days or weeks leading up to Christmas, Irving Berlin’s song “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)” seems appropriate for our Thanksgiving Day celebrations and for cultivating a daily spiritual practice of gratitude.  The words, in part, are these:  “When I’m worried, and I can’t sleep/ I count my blessings instead of sheep/ and I fall asleep counting my blessings…”  The author of Psalm 104 seems to share this sentiment.  The psalm is both an extensive recounting of the wonders of God’s creation, and a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s abundant provision and care. One can almost imagine the psalmist at the end of the day, counting God’s myriad blessings, and then falling gently to sleep with words of blessing and praise still on their lips!

Prayer:  Generous God, you lavishly bless your world and all its people.  In good times, and in challenging ones, you are faithfully at work bringing good from evil, light from darkness, and new life from that which is broken or dying.  Help me to set aside my doubts and fears.  Empower me to trust in the abundance of your goodness and mercy.  Make me truly grateful for each and every blessing that you offer.  Let me begin and end each day declaring, “Bless the Lord, O my soul!”  In the name of Jesus, your greatest blessing, I pray.  Amen.

New Hope Celebrates it’s 10th Anniversary!

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New Hope Lutheran Church had a wonderful celebration service featuring a variety of special music including a bells choir, a vocal choir, sax, trumpet, drums, piano, and organ. The Rev. Dr. Laurie Jungling was the guest preacher. The service was followed by a potluck meal, birthday cake, games, and shared memories.

THANK YOU to the Congregational Life team, all the musicians, the church council, and everyone else who helped make the 10th Anniversary Celebration a wonderful day!

WOW returns!

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Word on Wednesday (WOW)

Starting Wednesday, September 10th, 2025

6-7 pm, at New Hope Lutheran Church

Dinner – Lesson – Activity

This is a time for young children (ages 2 – grade 5) to learn the stories of the Bible, have prayer, and fellowship in a casual setting. Parents are welcome to stay and enjoy everything too!

We will be meeting every Wednesday from 6-7pm until springtime.

A Prayer for a New School Year

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God of all Wisdom, we give you thanks for the beginning of a new year of learning.  Watch over and protect all students.  Give them a love of learning that will stay with them throughout their lives.  Let them find joy in discovering the wonders of your world.  Let them be amazed by the diversity of life that you have made. 

Thank you for teachers, bus drivers, administrative staff and aides who give so much of themselves to the care of our children and youth.  Thank you for faculty, staff, and administrators who work in campuses of higher education.  Give a spirit of patience and understanding to all who engage in the education process. 

We pray also for parents.  Ease the anxieties that can come when children are in multiple schools and locations.  Inspire them with the knowledge they need to encourage and model life-long learning.  Give them the energy and patience they need to navigate the demands of work, school and activity schedules.  Fill them with your abundant love.

All these things, and whatever else is needful in your sight, grant to us, gracious and loving God.  Amen.

Mid-week Prayer

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In three of the four gospels, we find the story of Jesus and his disciples getting into a boat with the intention of crossing over to the other side of the lake.  While Jesus slept, a terrible storm came up, threatening to sink them all.  In panic and fear, the disciples wake Jesus.  They accuse him of “checking out” right when they need him the most.  It is only after Jesus calms the storm… after they experience what Mark describes as a “dead calm”… that they can proceed on their way TOGETHER.  (See Mark 4:35-41).  

Maybe you’ve felt that way about the storm of chaos and false-truths that have seemingly come out of nowhere in these past weeks.  I know I have.  As the disciples discovered, it is only by clinging to Jesus in the midst of life’s stormy seas, that we can at last find the calm which will allow us to thoughtfully, purposefully, and prayerfully get where we need to go TOGETHER.

In your prayers this week, create a space where you can be still and know that God is present.  Let the peace of God wash over and through you.  Then pray:  for peace in our world, in our nation, in our communities, and in our homes.  Trust Jesus to make a way through to the other side, and to journey there with you and for you. —Pastor Tammy

This Week’s Prayer

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I recently saw a bumper sticker that said:  I am the one Jesus loves.  While I have no doubt that Jesus loves the person driving that vehicle (and every other vehicle bearing that message), the wording suggests that Jesus’ love is reserved exclusively for a very few.  Such a claim stands in direct opposition to Jesus’ expansive, inclusive welcome.  “Whoever does the will of God,” Jesus said, “is my brother and sister and mother”.  (Mark 3:35)

We are part of a very big family, indeed.  It’s no surprise that when Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, the focus is on the many, not the one.  “Our Father”…  “give us…” etc. (see Matthew 6:9-13).  In the coming week, if you pray the Lord’s Prayer, focus on the sense of community the prayer holds, and in your own prayers, try using words like “us”, “we”, and “our” as often as you can.    As followers of Jesus, we are all in this together!    Pr. Tammy