A Prayer for Lent, the Days Leading Up to Easter Lord,In the days leading up to Easter we want to contemplate and understand more fully the suffering death of the Lord Jesus whereby we are forgiven and his glorious resurrection whereby we are empowered to live.This great mission to heal a broken world was your […]

We live in an age of increasing worries and anxieties. Jesus’ words “do not worry” from the Sermon on the Mount are very familiar to us, but what did he actually mean? If we look closely, we’ll see how Jesus provided a detailed and practical lifestyle that will lessen the oppression of worry and anxiety.

READER RESPONSES toA Chronicle of Grief: Finding Life After Traumatic Loss by Mel Lawrenz “Beautifully written. No platitudes, just hard-won wisdom and truth. It gives hope to those grieving, and help for those walking alongside them.” “I came away from this chronicle of grief with renewed hope and encouragement. I’ve read a lot of books

Reader Comments for Knowing Him: Devotional Readings for the Easter Season by Mel Lawrenz… Easter devotionals for adults and kids… The author takes each day and helps you to understand why it is so important for us to know Christ in an intimate way. The book is well written and is easy to understand. Understandable

Mel Lawrenz is Teaching Pastor at Elmbrook Church. He just published A Better Year Ahead? Opening Our Eyes to Hope, looking ahead to 2021. ________________ These well known words from 1865 are engraved on the wall of the Lincoln Memorial. “With malice toward none, with charity for all… to do all which may achieve and cherish

[This is chapter 4 in the newly released A Better Year Ahead? Opening Our Eyes to Hope ] Now that is an important question. Everything we do in life, every choice we make, every reaction we have to the people in our lives, every opinion we have about how things are going in our communities and

Happy New Year, friends! Perhaps you have been through the typical ritual of making resolutions for the new year, or perhaps you long ago gave up. I have mixed feelings about resolutions. If they work, and if they aim at a good end, that’s great. I tend to think of turning points in our lives

Mel Lawrenz is Teaching Pastor at Elmbrook Church. He just published A Better Year Ahead? Opening Our Eyes to Hope, looking ahead to 2021. ________________ Everyone agrees with this simple sentiment: 2020 was a difficult year. A shockingly difficult year. An unprecedented difficult year. And they all wonder: Is there reason to hope that the new

Christmas is always a difficult day for a soldier on a battlefield far from home. How could it be that the Prince of Peace had come, and yet men still shot each other with rifles? On Christmas of 1914 something happened that nobody could have ever predicted. British and German troops were bogged down in

[Chapter 1 of the new release A Better Year Ahead? Opening Our Eyes to Hope] Everyone I know agrees with this simple sentiment:  2020 was a difficult year. A shockingly difficult year. An unprecedented difficult year. And they all wonder: Is there reason to hope that the new year might be better?

Even in difficult times, it is possible to find JOY….  Christmas Joy: A Devotional (for adults)Christmas Joy for Kids: A DevotionalOrder now. Begin reading December 1.Daily readings to keep our focus on the true meaning of Christmas–that a savior was born to deliver us from fear and guilt and distress. Adult version, and now, kids’ version, also. Daily readings… *

Mel Lawrenz is Teaching Pastor at Elmbrook Church. His most recent book is about dealing with loss, A Chronicle of Grief: Finding Life After Traumatic Loss. _____________________________________ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them

Mel Lawrenz is Teaching Pastor at Elmbrook Church. His most recent book is about dealing with loss, A Chronicle of Grief: Finding Life After Traumatic Loss. _____________________________________ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.The rain came down, the