April 30, 2017: Special meetings, part 1: Is the Reformation still relevant?

As part of our special meetings that we have each year, Grace Free Lutheran Church invited Pastor Patrick Lohse, pastor of Bethlehem Church in Morris, IL, to do a sermon series on the Reformation, and the 500th anniversary of that is coming up. The first one in the series here is titled "Is the Reformation still relevant?". The answer to that, and the history of Martin Luther and how God uses him, is here. We hope you are blessed by it! To hear his sermon, click here:

https://archive.org/details/PatrickLohseReformationpart1

And we hope you have a great day in Christ Jesus!

April 30, 2017: Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead

This week, Pastor Hodge continued to look at the Apostle's Creed by examining the phrase "Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead". First, the Bible is clear on future judgment: we will ALL face it, as seen in 2nd Corinthians 5:10, and Hebrews 9:22, after Jesus' second coming. What happens after that? Lots of things. Satan's reign will end, and we will have a great separation at the final judgment. All those who believe in Jesus, and those who shouldn't, must take Christ's words very seriously.  Pastor Hodge unpacks them here using the Scriptures as a reference for what will happen.

We also had Diane Lizer do our children's sermon today on disobedience. Who does it hurt? Why do we do it? And, we had the Seldals do our special music. We hope you are blessed by all of these sermon elements. And you can here them all here:

https://archive.org/details/05PastorMichaelHodgeJesuswillcomeagaintojudgethelivingandthedead

And we hope you have a great week in Christ Jesus!

April 23, 2017: Jesus is seated at the right hand of God

This week, Pastor Hodge expounds on this concept as we continue through the Apostle's Creed. Yes, Jesus does sit there, but what that means is so much! Listen to Pastor Hodge as he unpacks that portion of the Creed using Scripture that is referenced.

We also had Dr. Mistry talk about the LightHouse ministry in Rockford. Located in a tough area of the city, it helps to bring hope to those who have none by and through the Word of God, while also providing meals for the poor in the city. Listen to what the ministry does every day to bring love to a very broken population.

We also had Molly Blobaum talk about Band-Aids(tm), but what does that have to do with God? Listen and find out!

You can hear all of these recordings here:

https://archive.org/details/04PastorMichaelHodgeJesusSitsattherighthandOfGod

And we hope you have a great week in Christ Jesus!

April 16, 2017: He is Risen! Why that matters so much to Christians, and should to everyone

This Sunday was Easter, of course, and Pastor Hodge concluded his series on the Creeds with "And on the third day He arose again from the dead".  This is the linchpin moment in all of Christianity that separates us from every other so-called "god": Jesus rose from the dead, with hundreds of witnesses who saw him alive after he was clearly dead. The importance of the Resurrection cannot be understated. Listen to Pastor's sermon today to understand why.

We also had Molly Blobaum do our children's sermon today, and Dale and Karen did our special music for this Easter Sunday. I hope you are blessed by all of these service elements.

Speaking of which, you can hear them here:

https://archive.org/details/03PastorMichaelHodgeEastersermon

And we hope you have a great week in Christ Jesus!

April 9, 2017: We believe that Jesus descended into Hell (or: wow, how can that be?)

This week, on Palm Sunday, Pastor Hodge delivered a message on how Jesus descended into Hell and rose again. How is this possible? If Jesus is the Holy Son of God, how is this true? Some churches see the Nicene Creed as optional, and not even say that he descended into Hell. Some say it was Jesus coming to Earth, or suffering on Earth. In this message, we unpack and get a better understanding by looking at the Biblical concepts of Hell. We hope you listen to this very important message on how Jesus did descend into Hell, and then rose again.

We also had the Storeys and the Seldals do special music together. We hope you enjoy it! You can hear these recordings by copying and pasting this link to it in your browser:

https://archive.org/details/PastorMichaelHodgeWebelieveJesusdescendedintohell

And we hope you have a great week in Christ Jesus!

April 2, 2017: AFLBS Choir concert

The Association Free Lutheran Bible School Choir (AFLBS) came to sing to our church today. While there was a short sermon, we did not record it, so that we may fully enjoy the concert and the fellowship that followed. We'll see you next week!