St. Luke Lutheran Church

I want to focus on one word for this devotional thought, the word “bless.”  The Hebrew word for blessing is the same word for gift.  A blessing is a gift.  The Aaronic blessing isn’t the only blessing of the Bible.  In fact, the most common blessing was spoken almost as a greeting, “Peace be with you.”  Our understanding of greetings, and all too often blessings often lacks the depth of the people who lived in Biblical times.  For most of us blessings and greetings are filler. They are meaningless sentiments made at the beginning and the ending of a visit or social interaction.  Prior to the invention of the phone in the 1800’s people often greeted each other with “good day” or “hail.” Both greetings had the intent of a blessing, one was a blessing for goodness in the day the other meant “be well” or “be at peace”.  Today we say Hello, a word which has no substance.  When we leave a conversation or depart from a place we often say “Good-Bye” which is a blessing.  It means “God be with you.”  Even though we speak the words, few consider the power of the blessing.

Yet, blessings are powerful.  Jesus said to the disciples, “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you, Luke 10:5-6.  Notice that the blessing is described like an object: in speaking the blessing, the substance of peace is given.  If the substance is not received, it returns to the giver.  Blessings have power because the blessing comes from God.  We don’t just speak the word “Peace,” we give the Father’s peace to those around us.  We don’t just just speak the phrase, “Be well,” we give the Father’s protection and sustaining grace to others.

Join us this Sunday as we dig into the Aaronic benediction and find strength and joy for the challenging journeys ahead.

• We received a list of 12 names from the Michigan District office.
• After reviewing those 12 names, we decided to move forward with 9 of the names for consideration.
• After contacting those 9 pastors to see if they were open to an interview, 4 of the pastors indicated they would be open to interviewing.
• We conducted interviews with those 4 pastors.
• After discussion, the committee decided to hold second interviews with 2 of the candidates whom we  felt would be good fits at St. Luke.
• Unfortunately, both of those candidates asked to be removed from consideration.

While this is disappointing news, we continue to trust that God is guiding this process. Both Pastor Todd and the Michigan District office shared with the committee that there is a significant pastor shortage. Most calling congregations are having similar experiences to St. Luke.

We are working with the district on identifying new candidates for consideration and are opening up the Pastoral Candidate Nomination Form for St. Luke members to submit names through February 25, 2024.  CLICK HERE FOR THE FORM

Your call committee will continue to work diligently and prayerfully as we seek our next Sr. Pastor.  Please continue to lift this process up in your prayers.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to any member of the call committee.

Life Light Bible Study

Starting Monday February 5, 2024 St. Luke will offer an in depth and intentional study of the Word of God through a program called Life Light. For those who desire a deeper study of the Scriptures, Life Light will offer a broader time frame than is available in the typical Sunday morning adult Bible class. The LifeLight program assumes a level of commitment that will bring participants to each of the nine weekly assemblies having read the assigned readings and attempted to answer the daily study questions. These daily readings and study will require from 15 to 30 minutes for the five days preceding the LifeLight small group gathering. The day following the gathering will be spent reviewing the previous week’s study by going over the completed study questions and the enrichment magazine.

This new group will be meeting on Monday evenings, from 7-8:30PM from Feb. 5th through June 10th at St. Luke. This winter and spring we will be covering the book of Genesis. Register here.

West Wing Bible Study: Join us in the West Wing for a discussion based on the previous week’s through the Bible readings. If you have a question, or a comment for further discussion, you can send it in for inclusion in the class by using the form located at https://www.stlukeaa.org/bible. God’s Word is powerful and effective. Please join us this Sunday as we continue our one-year journey through the Bible.This week. Rev. Dr. Rob Kasper will be leading the Bible class discussion.

Women’s Study: Lynn Corker and Libby Fink will be leading a study geared toward women, in room 104/105. This year, we’ll explore what it means that God is with us now, and we’ll trace this promise of His presence from the lost garden of Genesis to the garden city of Revelation, where we will dwell with the Lord forever. A $20 study guide is available for this class.

Parent’s Study: Andy VanEgmond will lead a study for all parents with children in the congregation, in room 101/102. We’ll discuss the Sheepfold lesson for the week and work to build a strong community of parents here at St. Luke, as we all navigate the tricky task of raising kids in the faith.

Nursery: 3-year-olds and younger
Sheepfold: 4-year-olds thru 5th Grade
Youth Group: 6th-12th Grade

All married couples – any ages, any number of years married, friends, family, co-workers – are invited to join the festivities! To register and purchase your ticket ($15/couple) for this wonderful one-night event, click here to sign up.  If you have any questions, please contact Debbie at