[Mel Lawrenz is Teaching Pastor at Elmbrook Church and the author of the upcoming A Chronicle of Grief: Finding Life After Traumatic Loss.] ______________________ We are living a new and unexpected lifestyle right now. We are dealing with an unwelcome and difficult exile from the normal functions of our lives because of the global health crisis. […]
Thinking Ahead About Rebuilding Read More »
[Mel Lawrenz is Teaching Pastor at Elmbrook Church and the author of numerous books including Spiritual Leadership Today.] What do you do when life is suddenly terribly disrupted? When you have to change your pattern of life? When your relationships become disjointed? This is where we live now. The global pandemic has imposed this on us.
Living in the Exile of Pandemic Read More »
There is a story of a shepherd named Gyges who found a magic gold ring which had the power to turn him invisible. He discovered its power quite by accident when he was sitting with some fellow shepherds and twisted the ring so that its bezel was to the inside of his hand. Twisting it
]Mel Lawrenz is Teaching Pastor at Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Get his regular prayers and writings by signing up HERE.] ____________________ Most people who suffer something significant wonder whether there is any purpose in it. Our first responsibility to those who suffer is to show compassion and empathy. But there are answers to the question
Can Anything Good Come Out of Suffering? Read More »
There are numerous causes of suffering in the world. One of them is the brokenness of the natural world as we see it in disease and earthquakes and hurricanes, and other ways. Scripture tells us that suffering has become nature’s abnormal state. In Genesis 3 it says that the world that has become cursed now has
Living in a Catastrophic World Read More »
[Mel Lawrenz will be offering daily online ministry during this health crisis. Sign up HERE.] _________________ CRUCIFIXION They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they
Christ Crucified and Resurrected: Why It Matters Read More »
FOR KIDS“A Prayer for Easter Time”Dear God, I believe in the Lord Jesus… who was born in Bethlehem, who grew up and became a man, who taught crowds of people, who loved his disciples, who healed the sick, who was arrested by his enemies, was called a criminal, was nailed to a cross. He died
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FOR KIDS“A Prayer to Start the Day”Thank you, Lord, for this brand-new day. Keep me safe, keep me strong, I pray.Guide my actions, shape my thoughts, tell me what to say.Help me to follow your good, pure way. Amen. [from A Book of Prayers for Kids: Ways to Talk to God Every Day] [go HERE for an audio version of
Prayers to start the day – for kids, for adults Read More »
The coronavirus crisis has many of us worrying and wondering. Mel Lawrenz offers thoughts from Scripture in this message given at Elmbrook Church.
A Message of Hope During This Health Crisis Read More »
[Mel Lawrenz is Teaching Pastor at Elmbrook Church and the author of Spiritual Leadership Today among other titles.] ____________________ The church has failed so often in so many ways, which was probably inevitable because it is built with the flawed material of humanity. We traded the righteousness of God for our tinny self-righteousness. We are satisfied with
What God is Building: the Church Read More »
[Mel Lawrenz is Teaching Pastor at Elmbrook Church and the author of nineteen books including Prayers for Our Lives: 95 Lifelines to God.] ______________ A survivor shuffles through the rubble of what used to be his home before a tornado pulled it apart into a hundred thousand pieces. What was shelter is now a pile of
Losing Your Sanctuary Read More »
[Mel Lawrenz is Teaching Pastor at Elmbrook Church and the author of 19 books, including, Spiritual Leadership Today (Zondervan).] ______________ Years ago I remember when we got a new car and my wife and I agreed would be “set apart” for my travels and my work. Our kids were teenagers at the time, and both were new
Set Apart for God’s Purposes Read More »
[Mel Lawrenz is Teaching Pastor at Elmbrook Church. Follow his writings on Twitter or on Facebook.] The idea that we need someone else’s help to do what seems to be our responsibility is hard for many people to accept. Living a “clean” life is our responsibility, and we can’t pull it off on our own. Have you ever
[Mel Lawrenz is Teaching Pastor at Elmbrook Church and the author of 19 books, including, Spiritual Leadership Today (Zondervan).] ______________ Almost every civilization seeks purification. Its features vary widely, but people seek the same end: to be rid of what pollutes us, and to enjoy that elusive quality: purity. In Bali, when a child is three months
Cleaning Up Our Act Read More »
[Mel Lawrenz is a teaching pastor at Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin and is the author of 17 books, including a recent release, How to Study the Bible: A Practical Guide.] ___________________ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty…. He will cover you with his feathers,and under
The Unchanging Providence of God Read More »