Trinity Lutheran Church; Arendtsville, Pa

As Trinity begins its stewardship focus for the year, we look at the concept of tithing not as a strict formula for calculating offering totals, but as an issue of identity for God and for us.

As Trinity gathers for its late service on Christmas Eve, we reflect on on the church bells that used to ring in our communities and the calling of disciples to, like the shepherds, ring out when we see and hear God in our midst.

As Trinity gathers for its early service on Christmas Eve, children of all ages follow clues to discover where the bells of Christmas lead us, and to uncover what they are saying.

On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, Trinity considers how Jesus defines what a disciple does in Matthew, and we apply it to our very lives.

On this Second Sunday of Advent, Trinity focuses on the two things the Son of Man brings in our Matthew text: a embodied sense of who God is with a calling to match, and a mirror.

As Trinity celebrates the final Sunday of the liturgical calendar, Christ the King Sunday, we consider together how the kingship of Christ is different that the kings and rulers of this world. In light of these differences, we also consider which king we are to emulate.

As Trinity reflects on the emotions and experiences of this past election cycle, we read a text equally as concerning. In this, we hear a consistent message of God moving toward us, of discipleship, and of (surprisingly) peace.

As Trinity celebrates All-Saints Sunday, we remember the saints who have taught us our faith and discipleship from every time and place, and hear our own calling to be those saints for one another.

Joined by guest preacher and Regional Gift Planner Rev. Liz Polanzke, Trinity considers the ever reforming nature of God as it is experienced through a constant message: God loves us.

As the nation is presented with leaders battling for power, Trinity considers an alternative way of life that Jesus presents by parable. Through fundamental differences, opposing viewpoints, and sins of every kind we are called to remember that just as God has mercy, grace, and love for us all we too should have mercy, grace, and love for our neighbor.

While the work of an unjust judge seems like a strange place to discover a relationship with God, Trinity nonetheless searches for the good news in Jesus' parable, ultimately stumbling across a call to dwell with God.

This week Trinity wrestles with the 17th chapter of Luke in its complexity surrounding the central topic of faith. Ultimately, we see an increasing focus on belief and commitment by grace throughout the chapter, all hinging on Jesus' seemingly strange use of vulture imagery.

Trinity considers a confusing and uncomfortable text that Jesus presents in Luke 17, ultimately finding that there is grace and responsibility in the midst of forgiveness.

Trinity faces its fifth week of talking about stewardship thanks to the Gospel of Luke's insistence on the subject! Together, Trinity discovers the clear calling of God to use all our gifts - financial and otherwise - for the good of all those in need. With this calling is incredible, undeserved grace along with the yoke of responsibility.

Joined by Chelle Huth, a volunteer from the Lutheran Camping Corporation, Trinity looks at how our local church camps help our community work to keep our baptismal promises and, by the grace of God, see a vision of what life together as the body of Christ may look like.

For a third time Trinity considers all that we have and all that we are, and seeing these as gifts of God. We then ask what it means to care for something that is not ours with all our heart, calling this act by its given name: stewardship.

As the tables of last week are followed by a very grating and challenging text of discipleship this week. Trinity considers all that we have individually and together, asking if our discipleship matches what Jesus presents.

Looking at Jesus' proposed table etiquette, Trinity considers the tables of our time, our money, our family, our everything, and who we believe to sit at the head of those tables.

Honoring the Sabbath can be a challenging thing is a busy world, but Trinity nonetheless takes a look at Jesus' action of healing on the Sabbath, the Second Commandment, and a developing ethic of what brings and promotes life.

With guest preacher Rev. Lauren Muratore, Trinity is invited to consider the power behind what we consider our treasure, and the power behind sharing those treasures with all creation just as God has shared, is sharing, and will always share overabundant love with us.