blog, Encouragement, Features
Mary, Did You Know?
Greetings in love to all; With the New Year, we all make plans and try to fix what didn’t work last year. As parents and grandparents and mentors in the family of faith, we are...
From the Desk of Our Pastors
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
Who God Called You To Be
We are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (Ephesians 2:10) I have received many good gifts in my life....
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
God With Us
The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14b Life is complicated, and the older I get, the more alarmed I become concerning...
blog, Church, Encouragement, Features, Pastor David Dahl
Love In Chaos Pt 3
“When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 1:13b.How do you reflect Christ in a world that is a mess? How do you show “Love in Chaos”?...
blog, Encouragement, Features, Pastor David Dahl
Love In Chaos Pt 2
In order for you and me to understand the chaos in our world, we need to understand the chaos within us. When we’re willing to be courageous enough to embrace our own stuff, the door...
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
Love In Chaos
“ Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my Pharisees and to us. Humanity left on its word and believes him who sent me has own is bent on death. You and I are...
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
A Season of Jubilee
Our “Summer of Joy” takes us squarely through the season of parades, sidewalk sales and brat fries. This is a season of celebrations. Celebrations are a wonderful way to openly thank God for freedom, safety...
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
A Season of Joy
“He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior . . . ” (Titus 3:5b-6) It’s all grace....
blog, Church, Features, Pastor David Dahl
The Best Exercise for Lent
Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your custom (habit) toward those who love your name. (Psalms 119:132) The best way to start your day is with a good cup of coffee...
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
The Legend of Valentine
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:12-13) How would...
blog, Church, Encouragement, Features, Pastor David Dahl
Change Work
16 “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,...
blog, Church, Encouragement, Features, Inspiration, Pastor David Dahl
Preparing for Advent
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law...
blog, Church, Features, Pastor Scott Mann, Stories
Difficult Conversations
Have you ever had a time when you have wanted to avoid a conversation with someone because you just knew it was not going to go well? Maybe it was something that hurt you or...
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
What’s Next
I’m fascinated by all the places in the Bible that leave us to wonder what happened next. How did the formerly demon-possessed man live after Jesus removed his demons and he moved out of the...
blog, Features, Pastor Scott Mann
Being A Disciple
We just returned from another wonderful, faith-building youth mission trip and we had a great time. Seven youth and five adult leaders traveled to western Kentucky for seven days of fun, fellowship, work, and worship....
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
I Need You To Lead A Small Group
“Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent . . .” (Paul’s speech delivered at the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch recorded in Acts...
blog, Features, Pastor Scott Mann
Faith In Action
For a number of years, I have been involved with an organization called Faith in Action. It is a national community organizing network that gives people of faith the tools that they need to fight...
blog, Church, Encouragement, Features, Pastor David Dahl
Peeling Back the Layers
“Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:3) Slowly, I’m making progress on bringing “Lazarus,” my 1951 John Deere B,...
blog, Features, Pastor Scott Mann
The Question of Morality
What is Morality? “We have been called on to live differently than the world around us. We are called to be in it without being like it.” If you are looking up the definition of...
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
The Seven Last Words
Our last words carry weight. You feel it at these moments:• In the words you speak when leaving the house to go to work• When heading off to war• When you’re at the bedside of...
blog, Features, Pastor Scott Mann
What Is Real Love?
February has always been a very special month for me, not only is it the month of my birth, but it’s also the month most often associated with love. It is a time of the...
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
The Priesthood of All Believers
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter...
blog, Features, Pastor Scott Mann
A Harvest of Righteousness
Does it ever bother you when there is a problem, and no one does anything about it? I remember when I was young and seeing others bullied at school, it seemed at the time that...
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
The Crazy Rollercoaster in Your Heart
Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me! (Psalm 66:20) I had a few thoughts about what to title this article. One of the first titles...
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
Connected to a Godly Culture
. . so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 3:10 Oh, here it comes...
blog, Features, Pastor Scott Mann
How To Get More Done
Is your world becoming busier and busier all the time? Having a hard time finding the time to get those necessary items off your to do list? Well maybe you should pray more about it....
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
Looking UP
As I was getting ready for bed, one of my daughters wanted to talk. I indulged her, and she talked without stopping for over 2 hours! A listening ear can be our most valuable possession....
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
Trust Your Journey
By the time you read this article, I will be riding my bicycle across the state of Iowa. This is what the website says about it, “RAGBRAI, Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
Where Is God When Powerful People Are Out of Control?
Keep the words of the Lord in your heart; teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise....
blog, Church, special-events
Faithlife App Bridges A Gap
Stay connected with your church and other believers. Share prayer requests, create and promote events, follow along with curated Bible reading plans, and more. Join our community – View the Newsletters and our Bulletins...
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
Practice Getting Uncomfortable
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor and theologian. He was also part of the anti-Nazi resistance and died by hanging as a POW at the age of 39. He had a rich spiritual life and...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
Keep Being WEIRD
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21) Ken Kuhn, our Church Council president, pointed me to a concern that’s been on my mind ever since. As we’ve trudged through...
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
Trust Yourself…
In the book of Galatians, chapter 3 we read that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Of course to the early believers in Galatia, obeying the Old Testament law was part of their...
blog, Inspiration, Pastor David Dahl
Follow Me
While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to...
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
Train Up A Child
Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; and even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” What does it mean to “train up a child in...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
Everything Has Become New
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has...
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
Trust In The Lord
Can you think of a time when you reacted poorly to an inconvenient situation? Maybe it was while you were in the car after having a tire go flat, or in a traffic jam somewhere...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
Our Identity In Christ
For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13) It comes out of nowhere and...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
Not By Might But Spirit
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6b) When the above words were spoken, the children of Israel were a conquered people. They were under Persian...
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
Taking Time to Pray
Have you taken the time to pray today? I can just hear some of the thoughts going through the air right now. “Pastor Scott, are you crazy, we’ve been praying like crazy” or “Of course...
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
They Can’t Do That!
They can’t do that! That’s the refrain that is loaded and waiting in our minds just in case family gatherings are limited due to COVID-19 – or a mask order is put into place. The...
blog, Features, Pastor Scott Mann
Surprise!
Have you ever been surprised by something? Maybe a party thrown in your honor? Maybe an unexpected gift? How about that all important day when you were asked to be married? Now of course these...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
Jesus Teaches and Heals
“I’m stuck and I’ll need a pull.” It was a distress call from a hunter who had gotten himself into a “pickle”. His four-wheel drive truck met its match when he tried to navigate a...
blog, Church, Pastor Scott Mann
Looking for direction? Proverbs!
We are looking at the book of Proverbs for the next couple of months and I forgot how much I enjoy reading God’s words of wisdom. One verse I just read was Proverbs 24:27 which...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
Right Now Media Solutions
We continue to face concerns that isolate us. The political situation pulls us one direction & then another motivating us to point fingers at each other. We want to open every opportunity for you to...
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
Back to School Blessings
While we realize that we all have differing opinions as to how to provide Christian education in these interesting times, we do have a common goal. All of us want to pass our faith on...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
Glory to God in the Highest
Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but...
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
Choose Life
I made a joke that my time of Sabbatical was supposed to be a time of rest but afterward I looked in the mirror and noticed that I did not look very rested. But the...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
Join or Die
For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly...
Church
Rooted in The Lord for 75 Years
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness....
blog, Features, Pastor Scott Mann
What Would Christ Decide?
What Would Christ Decide? Have you ever thought to yourself, for such a small decision, it sure seems to have affected a lot of things? I know at times in my life I’ve made some...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
We Gather Together
But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 1 Corinthians 8:9 The last few months have presented us with a constant array of challenges as...
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
In Times Like These
This time in our country is unprecedented. Trying to do life, church, and community during the Covid-19 pandemic is a new challenge. The staff and Church Council of Gloria Dei are determined to help you...
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Do you remember the date of your baptism? For most of us who were baptized as infant, it is not a date you recall. It is not like your birthday, which everyone knows immediately. It...
blog, Features, Pastor David Dahl
How Do We Follow God in an Angry Culture?
Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12 “I don’t even watch the news anymore. I can’t take...
blog, Features, Pastor Scott Mann
No Other gods Before Me
I read an article the other day about idolatry. It’s a word you don’t hear much in casual conversation and the article talks about what an idol really is. It was written by Jennifer Slattery,...
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
Finding Trust
What is trust? The dictionary defines it as a firm belief in the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing; confidence or reliance. It goes on to say that trust is to believe,...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
Do Not Lose Heart
“Getting old is not for sissies.” Aches and pains and sorrows pester us and try to take center stage in our conversations. But there is a blessing to growing older. Experience brings a bigger perspective....
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
Trust God’s Promises
With all the rain we’ve had lately, it’s had me looking for rainbows. And because of that, I took a fresh look at what the Bible has to say about therainbow. We all know that...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
Gnats of Freedom
Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. (Psalm 3:7-8) Gnats....
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
God Bless America
You may not know it, but for American Christians, there might not be an issue more complicated or wrapped in history and politics than patriotism. I’ve heard many different opinions on the subject of patriotism....
blog, Pastor David Dahl
Encourage One Another
“Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” John 4:29 Little yellow flowers popping up in our lawns are a sure sign that snow is gone...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
The Big Reveal
11 While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan...
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
Take Time to Pray
Here we are and the Lenten season is almost over and soon Easter will be here with all of its promise and beauty. I pray that Spring is a true blessing to each of you...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
The Last Words of Christ
Our last words carry weight. You feel it at these moments: When leaving the house to go to work When heading off to war When reading the last page of an autobiography When breathing your...
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
How to Be Strong
As I get older, I find it harder and harder to keep up my physical strength. Things I used to do with ease are not so simple anymore. How can I develop a spiritual strength...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
When the Right Time Came
During my short lifetime, I have witnessed the advent of the personal computer or PC, the change from green screens to full-color flat panel screens, from figuring out what the printout is going to look...
blog, Pastor Scott Mann
The Fear of the Lord
Wisdom isn’t a word you probably hear very often in casual conversation. It may not be a word you’ve heard very often lately, period. So, what is wisdom? And why is it so important to...
blog, Pastor David Dahl
Pray for Guidance for the New Year
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6b) The problem with resolutions is that they include a “forever” commitment. We’re going to lose weight, exercise more,...