In 1 Corinthians 15:12–28, Paul proclaims the resurrection of Christ as the decisive victory of the Triune God over sin and death. The Son reigns in power, subduing every enemy until the last—death itself—is destroyed. Through the resurrection, the Father’s plan is fulfilled, the Son’s reign is established, and the Spirit gives life to all who beli…

This Pentecost, we remember not just the fire and wind, but the quiet, steady presence of the Spirit Jesus promised. In The Spirit of Power and Peace, we’ll explore how the Holy Spirit empowers us to live with courage and fills us with a peace the world cannot give. As fear rises and chaos swirls, Jesus speaks comfort: “Do not let your hearts be tr…

What if the strength God gave you wasn’t just for you? In Romans 15:1-13, Paul calls us to bear with the weak, build one another up, and live in harmony rooted in the hope of Christ. This hope isn’t wishful thinking—it’s a confident joy that overflows through the power of the Holy Spirit. God is inviting you to become a person of encouragement, poi…

What does it really look like to live a life shaped by God’s mercy? In Romans 12:1-2, 9-21, Paul paints a powerful picture of true worship—not just in songs or rituals, but in everyday acts of love, humility, and grace. This transformed life rejects the patterns of the world and embraces a radical way of living that overcomes evil with good. Hear h…

Imagine living without the weight of guilt constantly pressing on your soul. In Romans 8:1-11, Paul announces the liberating truth that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are no longer bound to sin but are set free to walk in newness of life. God is inviting you to experience the joy…

What if peace with God wasn’t something you had to chase, but something already secured? In Romans 5:1-11, Paul shows us that through faith in Christ, we not only stand justified but also stand in unshakable hope—even in suffering. God is inviting you to discover the deep assurance and joy that flow from his love poured into our hearts.…

What if your standing before God didn’t depend on your performance, but on His promise? In Romans 3:19-31, Paul unveils the stunning truth that we are made right with God by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. God is inviting you to lay down your striving and receive the freedom that only the gospel can give.…

All of us live by faith in something. The object of our faith might be our own abilities or possessions, some guru on YouTube, or the author of the last book we read. Those many options come with consequences, for if the object of our faith is flawed it will eventually fail and our life will be shattered as a result. Only Jesus won forgiveness, sal…

Fear is a natural response to any stimulus that we think might threaten or overwhelm us. But what kind of fear do you want to have in your heart? Do you want to fear death, condemnation and all the turmoil in the world? Or do you want to fear the God who can cause you to tremble with astonishment over what he does to save you? Choose your fear wise…

Two thousand years ago, as now, there were differing opinions about who Jesus really was. Peter got it right when he identified Jesus as the Messiah, the One sent from God to save his people. Jesus is the King who went to the cross to save us and make us one of God’s people. In thanksgiving for what he has done for us, we focus our minds on the con…

Why do some believe in Jesus and others do not? In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus teaches us that God’s Word always has the potential to produce abundant faith within us, but sometimes the condition of our heart hinders the growth God wants to give to us. Therefore, we tend our heart like a gardener, keeping it soft, clean & fertile so that God’s …

“I’m a good person,” is a common way people describe themselves, but an honest self-assessment will soon reveal that this statement is not true. The only human hope for goodness is found outside ourselves in Jesus Christ, God’s Son and our Saviour. He won the gift of goodness for us through his life, death & resurrection & he applies his goodness t…

We humans are greatly influenced by our environment, and when the brokenness inside us connects with the brokenness in the world, it can lead to devastation. Thankfully, God’s Word creates faith in our hearts which connects us to Jesus, who saves us and transforms us to become more like him from the inside out. (Based on 2 Timothy 3:1-17.)…

Having goals in life can be a good thing, but it is best to hold them loosely, for a self-directed life will always fall short of the life God wants to give us. He invites us to live our life in the world yet live differently from the world. By living in the grace he gives us, we grow into the purpose he has for us, and those around us are blessed …

Being a person of hope requires that we hold in our heart two seemingly opposite truths at the same time. First, the world, including us, has been thoroughly infected and broken by evil and that brokenness is beyond any human ability to repair. And second, Jesus Christ, through his life, death, and resurrection, paid the full cost for all the evil …

There can be little doubt that the world is broken. A brief survey of world news provides sufficient evidence of that fact. But how can the world be healed? Our best human efforts, though well-intentioned, will always fall short. Only a powerful, holy, and righteous God can make all the wrongs in this world right. And that very God is inviting us t…

Guilt can be a force for good when it moves us to repent of our sins and make amends to those we have harmed. But we also need to be aware that we have an enemy, Satan, who accuses us of sins already forgiven to drive a wedge between us and God. Thankfully, Jesus, through his death and resurrection, defeated Satan for us. In Jesus, our troubled sou…

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 …

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…

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 al…

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…

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 tha…

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 …

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…

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 …

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 thi…

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…

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 prepara…

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.)

The driver of an F1 race car needs to shut out all distractions and have a laser-sharp focus on their race for them to have any chance of success. And it is the same with us as we run the race of our life. We are attuned to our surroundings so we can navigate them successfully, but our focus is on Jesus, who both begins and completes our race for u…

For those who work in potentially dangerous situations, their training is paramount, for training well is what enables them to automatically respond appropriately in such situations. It is the same for us who follow Jesus. Trials and tribulations are inevitable in this life, but when we train for those eventualities with the gifts that God has give…

Becoming an F1 driver is a rare and daunting task. The only way to have a hope of accomplishing such a thing is to see that as your desired future and work wholeheartedly toward it. It’s our vision that coalesces our energy, resources, and attention in a drive toward our desired goal. Having a vision for the one and only life that God has given us …

When we encounter someone who looks, thinks, or acts differently than us, our natural tendency is to distance ourselves and look down on them. In doing so, we forget what we share: we are both lost and broken sinners who need a Savior. That Savior has come to us, his name is Jesus, and in his power and grace, we reach across the barriers that separ…

All of us have said, thought, or done things that fill us with guilt and shame which pulls us away from God. But with the forgiveness we have in Jesus, and the courage of the Holy Spirit within us, we go deeper into Jesus’ love and love others with the love that he has first given us. (Based on John 21:15-25.)…

When we insist on things going our own way, we are often blind to the negative impressions we make on others and the way we negate any influence we may have with them. By his example, Jesus reveals true leadership to us. He humbly took the lower place to lift us up to a higher place: rich, full, abundant life with him forever. (Based on John 13:1-1…

When the fast pace of life and other forms of stress take their toll on you, how can you get relief? When you get weary, what does a good rest look like? Let’s explore what Scripture tells us about entering God’s holy rest. (Based on Hebrews 3:7 – 4:13 & Matthew 11:28-30.)

Throughout life, there will be times when circumstances threaten to overwhelm us. Our optimism dims and our mood can darken. In such times, we need help from outside ourselves, we need Jesus. He has the power and the authority to make all things turn out for our good, and when we trust in him to do that, our perspective takes on a whole new, and mo…

Sometimes the Christian faith is characterized as a set of propositions that people need to agree with if they want to go to heaven. But this is inaccurate. The key feature of Christianity is a relationship of love with a God who redeems, transforms, and reorientates our life so that we become new people living in a new way in a new realm. (Based o…

The brokenness and evil in the world can overwhelm us, especially when it impacts us on a personal level. But the Lord has promised us that a day will come when he will make all things right, including us. Therefore, based on the Lord's goodness and his promises to us, we move forward with confident hope. (Based on Micah 7:8-10.)…

Sometimes we observe situations where non-Christians behave like Christians while Christians are functioning like they have no faith at all, and we are perplexed. Why does that happen? A softness toward the spiritual side of life is needed for us to be open to the movement of God, and God softens our hearts through faith. (Based on Jonah 1:1-3.)…

By default, a human heart is filled with pride and places itself at the center of its universe with all else revolving around it. When a life, with its perspective and priorities, is disordered like this, it will eventually implode. It is far better to see the desolation of our life apart from God, look to him in faith, and let him build us up in a…

Rae-Anna H was part of WGLC before moving to Japan (Osaka) as a missionary. Her focus is discipleship in the area of purity among Christian singles - discovering God's heart regarding sexuality, how to walk in His ways, and how to support singles in their desire to honor God with their sexuality. She will be sharing on the topic of "Discipleship Li…