Ministries

Chain of Lakes Videos

Select a link below to view recent past videos of worship services. For all past worship services go to https://vimeo.com/chainoflakes/videos Don’t forget to also check out Pastor Paul’s blog

June 15, 2025
Guest Preacher Rev. Gary Hanson – “Suffering”

June 8, 2025
Pentecost, and “Twisted Scriptures” – Divorce

June 1, 2025
“Twisted Scriptures” – God Won’t Give Me More Than I Can Handle

May 25, 2025
“Twisted Scriptures” – God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

May 18, 2025
Youth Sunday

May 11, 2025
Mother’s Day

May 4, 2025
“Twisted Scriptures” – Everything Happens for a Reason

April 27, 2025
“Twisted Scriptures” – Only Christians Go to Heaven

April 20, 2025
Easter Sunday

Daily Devotions

Comments about the devotion can be emailed to pastor@colpres.org

Daily Devotions June 23 - June 28, 2025

Monday, June 23
Luke 24:1-10
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen.Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.” Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.
This story is a powerful anecdote to the teaching that women can’t be pastors and must be silent in church.
When the women came to the tomb they were expecting to tend to a dead body. And they weren’t sure what the condition of the body would be as it had been three days since Jesus had been put into the tomb.
What they encountered at the tomb has literally changed the world. Every day since this story has happened someone has spoken about or thought about the resurrection of Jesus. A person could make the argument that this story is the most important story for the universe.
And to whom did the angels choose to share the story? The angel told a group of women—Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women. There was not a man in the group.
The women were the first preachers of the story that Jesus was raised from the dead. Did the angels intentionally choose women to share this story? Maybe. An argument could be made each way.
But if God trusted women to be the first people to share the message that Jesus was risen, does it not make sense that God would choose women to share this message in a worship service?
Does it mean something to you that God chose women to be the first people to share the message that Jesus was raised? Please share.

Tuesday, June 24
1 Corinthians 14:34-40
Women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is something they want to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?
Anyone who claims to be a prophet or spiritual must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord. Anyone who does not recognize this is not to be recognized. So, my brothers and sisters, strive to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues,but all things should be done decently and in order.
These verses are harsh and inconsistent with other places in the Bible where women are celebrated for their gifts. Some people think that the Apostle Paul didn’t write them. The idea is a person who wrote later than Paul inserted the verses to make them consistent with a more patriarchal teaching.
Paul had many friendships with women. He traveled with them and encouraged them to teach.
What’s important when reading Scripture is to ask whether these teachings are meant for a specific time period or do they represent God’s timeless will.
The church in the city of Corinth was very small. It was made up of house churches and the people in the churches were quite divided. In other places in Corinthians Paul was looking for ways to bring people together. In chapter 12 he celebrated people’s gifts no matter their gender and celebrated how agape love could bring people together in chapter 13.
To think that these verses written in the first century were intended to prohibit women from speaking in a congregation for thousands of years, asks more of the Scripture then was intended. If Paul did write these verses, he was writing about a specific situation. He wasn’t trying to make a statement that would govern the ordination of women.
What are your thoughts about these verses? Please share.

Wednesday, June 25
Exodus 15:20-21
Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them:
“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”
These verses from Exodus describe the reaction of people to one of the most important stories in the Old Testament. God had liberated the Israelites from Pharaoh. No longer would the Israelites be slaves in Egypt. God had made a way for the people to escape. It was astounding.
Miriam was the sister of Aaron and Moses. When she witnessed how God had rescued the Israelites, she could not help but rejoice. She and other women grabbed tambourines and started dancing. They were overwhelmed with joy that God had saved the Israelites.
Some people believe that the first nineteen verses of this chapter were actually written by Miriam and not Moses.
The point for us is how does this influence the Twisted View of Scripture that women cannot be pastors or speak in church.
If Miriam can take up a tambourine and celebrate with other women the actions of God, it makes sense to think that Miriam and other women could do this in a modern day worship service. Would someone actually say that Miriam couldn’t speak in church? She was celebrating the mighty and powerful actions of God. To say that she couldn’t do this in church seems to limit the power of what God was doing.
What are your thoughts about this story? Please share.

Thursday, June 26
Galatians 3:23-29
Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be reckoned as righteous by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
The logic of Paul in these verses might contradict the idea (that many take from Paul) that women cannot speak in church.
Paul was arguing in these verses that because of Christ the law was no longer a disciplinarian. What mattered was faith in Christ. This faith was what would govern people’s relationship to God. Even other specific areas of distinctiveness were not more important than the idea that people were one in Christ. A relationship with Christ was most important.
A person’s nationality, or gender or slave status was less important than a person’s identity in Christ.
This identity that Paul was arguing for can help us see that Paul might have been in favor of women being pastors and speaking in church. The partial was less important than the big idea. The big idea was the Jesus was raised and through faith everyone could have access to this message. No where in this chapter does it seem that Paul would have restricted this message to only men and not women.
What are your thoughts about this passage? Please share.

Friday, June 27
Luke 1:46-55
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
    Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name;
indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
    and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things
    and sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Mary, the mother of Jesus, had just discovered that she was going to be the mother of Jesus. Not only that but she discovered that her cousin, Elizabeth was also going to have a child. Elizabeth was much older than Mary.
The vision that Mary shared in these verses is called the Magnificat. It shares a vision for the world that God inspired through Mary’s story.
This vision is an inclusive vision which expanded the people who received God’s favor. God had brought down the powerful and lifted up the lowly; God had filled the hungry and sent the rich away empty. God had helped the people of Israel.
If women were not permitted to speak in church, would it seem right that Mary would not share this song of praise in a church. Would it seem possible that Mary, the mother of Jesus, could not be ordained as a pastor. Would people actually tell Mary not to share her Magnificat because she was a woman? Hopefully not.
What are your thoughts about this passage? Please share.

Saturday, June 28
1 Samuel 2:1-10
Hannah prayed and said,
“My heart exults in the Lord;
    my strength is exalted in my God.
My mouth derides my enemies
    because I rejoice in your victory.
There is no Holy One like the Lord,
    no one besides you;
    there is no Rock like our God.
Talk no more so very proudly;
    let not arrogance come from your mouth,
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
    and by him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty are broken,
    but the feeble gird on strength.
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
    but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
    but she who has many children is forlorn.
The Lord kills and brings to life;
    he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
    he brings low; he also exalts.
He raises up the poor from the dust;
    he lifts the needy from the ash heap
to make them sit with princes
    and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
    and on them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
    but the wicked will perish in darkness,
    for not by might does one prevail.
The Lord! His adversaries will be shattered;
    the Most High will thunder in heaven.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
    he will give strength to his king
    and exalt the power of his anointed.”
Hannah’s vision for the world is similar to Mary’s Magnificat that Mary shared thousands of years later. In her prayer Hannah shared a beautiful, inclusive vision for the world.
If Hannah was alive today, hopefully all congregations would welcome the opportunity to have Hannah shared these words in worship.
Sadly some people in the church would not let Hannah share these words in a worship service.
If Hannah was alive today, would it bother you if she shared these words in a worship service? Why or why not? Please share.

Daily Devotions June 16 - June 21, 2025

Monday, June 16
Exodus 3:13-15
But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:
This is my name forever,
and this my title for all generations.
Traditionally God has been described as “Father;” however God is described with all sorts of different names in the Bible. On this week after Father’s Day we’ll have the opportunity in this devotion to reflect on six particular names that have been used to describe God.
The name “Yahweh” occurs 6,828 times in the Bible and is by far the most common designation to describe God. The word comes from the transliteration of the Hebrew term yhw.
When God asked Moses to go back to Israel and ask Pharaoh to release the Israelites, Moses wanted to know who had sent him. Moses wanted to know the name of God. God responded by telling Moses to say that “I am who I am” or “YHW” told him to go back to Israel.
People have debated for centuries what this means. One way to look at it is God is ultimately indescribable. We use language to put a name on God or to describe the qualities of God. But our human language can’t capture completely the essence of God.
So to say “I am who I am” is to say that language can’t completely capture God. God is—that is the important point. Our task is to accept that God is—that God exists.
Have you had times in your life when you addressed God as Yahweh? Please share.

Tuesday, June 17
1 Samuel 4:4
So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
The name “Lord of Hosts” occurs 261 times in the Bible. The idea is that God is enthroned as the king of heaven. The cherubim are angels, and God is above the cherubim. Putting this together we can see that the writer saw God as above everything.
In this story in 1 Samuel the people brought the ark. They wanted God to help them defeat the Philistines. The ark represented God and God’s favor to them. The “Lord of Hosts” would help them in their battle with the Philistines.
Just as the ark represented God and God’s favor to the Israelites we might have a special item to us that represents God and God’s favor. What would your item be?

Wednesday, June 18
Genesis 28:1-5
Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women. Go at once to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples. May he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, land that God gave to Abraham.” Thus Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
In verse three God is translated from the Hebrew term, “El Shaddai.” This divine name occurs seven times in the Bible.
“May [El Shaddai] God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples. May he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien—land that God gave to Abraham.” Genesis 28:3-4
El Shaddai was the name of a famous song that Amy Grant composed many years ago.
It often means God Almighty as it was translated in this verse. It can also mean God of the Mountain.
Here are some words from that song. You can see the immense power that El Shaddai represents.
“Through Your love and through the ram
You saved the son of Abraham
Through the power of Your hand
Turned the sea into dry land
To the outcast on her knees
You were the God who really sees
And by Your might
You set Your children free”
El Shaddai               Amy Grant
How would it be for you to pray to El Shaddai? Please share.

Thursday, June 19
Psalm 7:1-2, 17
O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;
    save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
or like a lion they will tear me apart;
    they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.
Another name for God is “El Elyon.” This is also translated as Most High.
The name is a designation that God is superior to any other God. The name occurred four times in Genesis 14.
When we call God “El Elyon” we are recognizing God’s supremacy. We acknowledge that God is the greatest God that exists and far superior to any other God.
We say this when we read the last verse of Psalm 17:
“I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord, [El Elyon] the Most High.”
Try addressing God today as El Elyon.

Friday, June 20
Mark 14:32-36
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took with him Peter and James and John and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me, yet not what I want but what you want.”
When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane he called out to “Abba, Father.” This is a term of endearment. It was as if Jesus was calling out to Papa.
Many people get snagged in the gender of the term, Father. God certainly is described as male, but God transcends gender. Just as with any term, gender can’t capture God. We use gender because we’re almost forced to use it in using a personal pronoun to describe God.
For Jesus it was his relationship with Abba that was more important than the gender of Abba.
When Jesus was under great pressure he prayed to Abba. He knew that everything was possible through Abba. At this moment he wasn’t concerned about the gender of God. He needed help and he reached out to Abba, Father, Papa.
What would it look like for you to describe God as Abba—someone intimate to you? Please share.

Saturday, June 21
Isaiah 46:3-4
Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
    all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from your birth,
    carried from the womb;
even to your old age I am he;
    even when you turn gray I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
    I will carry and will save.
In this passage God displays characteristics of a mother. God was sharing with Israel that they had been born from God and that God had carried and nurtured them throughout their existence. Just as a mother nurtures us God nurtured Israel.
Once again we acknowledge that language about God gives us part of the story. Yesterday we recognized that describing God as father doesn’t capture God. Today we can recognize that saying God as mother doesn’t capture God. Describing God as father or God as mother are images that can be helpful to us as we understand God. However these images are not complete as no language can completely capture God.
For many people thinking of God as mother is hard as this is a new way to think of God. And the debate about gender and God have made the idea contentious.
However think of the beautiful qualities of your own mother or a mother who you admire. It’s certainly possible to think that God has these qualities.
As you pray today, give thanks for the mothering images of God like the one shared in this passage.
How would it be for you to address God as mother? Please share.

Daily Devotions June 9 - 14, 2025

Monday, June 9
Deuteronomy 24:1-5
“Suppose a man enters into marriage with a woman but she does not please him because he finds something objectionable about her, so he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house; she then leaves his house and goes off to become another man’s wife. Then suppose the second man dislikes her, writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house (or the second man who married her dies): her first husband, who sent her away, is not permitted to take her again to be his wife after she has been defiled, for that would be abhorrent to the Lord, and you shall not bring guilt on the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession. When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be charged with any related duty. He shall be free at home one year, to be happy with the wife whom he has married.
This is the first time that we come across the idea of divorce in the Bible. The English word for divorce comes from the Hebrew word that is transliterated as “karath.” It means cutting off. A divorce is a cutting off of a relationship.
It’s significant that the process for divorce was for a man writing a certificate of divorce. No mention is shared of the possibility of a woman writing a certificate of divorce. And with the understanding of the extreme patriarchal character of that society, it would have been rare for a woman to initiate a divorce.
The certificate of divorce does give the woman a small amount of protection.
The teaching is certainly strange—a woman who is divorced twice cannot be married to her first husband. The teaching is contextual and should not be applied to our current day.
What are your thoughts about this passage? Please share.

Tuesday, June 10
Matthew 5:31-32
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Pastor Paul spent extensive time in his sermon this past Sunday teaching about this passage. The sermon can be found on the Chain of Lakes web site—colpres.org.
These verses are part of the Sermon on the Mount—the most important sermon ever shared. Jesus shared this sermon with a large crowd of men. Perhaps a woman was part of the crowd—but most likely not many were.
In sharing this verse Jesus was sharing the costs of divorce with the men to whom he was preaching. He didn’t want to make it easy on them to initiate a divorce.
It’s important to know that Jesus was using hyperbole in making his point. It would be tragic to make this teaching into a universal religious law. That wasn’t the point that Jesus was trying to make. By taking these verses and causing a person who experienced divorce to experience shame is a travesty of interpretation.
You might know of someone who has been hurt by the church when the person was divorced.
What are your thoughts about this passage and interpretation that is being shared? Please share.

Wednesday, June 11
Matthew 19:1-12
When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he cured them there. Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?” He said to them, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”
This teaching that Jesus shared on divorce is consistent with what Jesus shared in the reading from yesterday. The conversation is a healthy one—the Pharisees were interested in the thoughts of Jesus about divorce.
Jesus shared that marriage is a beautiful expression of the Kingdom of God. Jesus didn’t say this, but we can imagine him saying that the best of marriage reflects love, faithfulness, and compassion.
But the Pharisees wanted to know about divorce. They asked the question whether divorce was allowable for people.
The intention of marriage was not for people to be divorced. This makes sense. No couple who ever gets married is thinking about getting divorced.
Like yesterday’s reading the teaching about adultery is aimed at men. The power difference between men and women was high—and it was reflected in divorce. Men could use divorce as a source of manipulation.
Using divorce in a manipulative way would not be right—certainly it would be a sin.
What are your thoughts about this passage? Please share.

Thursday, June 12
Matthew 1:18-21
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Divorce was not prohibited when Jesus was alive. When Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant, he assumed that she had been in a sexual relationship with another man. Hard to be critical of Joseph for this assumption!
He decided to dismiss her quietly. He didn’t want to bring shame to Mary or to her family.
This shows the character of Joseph. Though he must have been internally crushed by his belief about Mary’s actions, he wasn’t going to publicly shame her. He was planning on doing this quietly.
An angel of God appeared to Joseph in a dream and set him on the right path. During the dream Joseph was told what had happened. When he woke from his dream he agreed not to get a divorce. He took Mary as his wife.
In this story we see the desire of Joseph to do the right thing. Whether it was dismissing Mary quietly or getting married to Mary—he did the right thing.
What are your thoughts about this story? Please share.

Friday, June 13
1 Corinthians 7:10-11
To the married I give this command—not I but the Lord—that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband) and that the husband should not divorce his wife.
These verses written by the Apostle Paul are similar to what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. The Apostle Paul was sharing a vision for society, and in this case a vision for marriage.
He didn’t want a man to divorce or separate from a woman and also didn’t want a woman to divorce or separate from a man.
Part of this entire passage is about resisting lust. Paul would prefer that people would remain single, but because of the possibility of sexual immorality it was good for people to be married.
This logic isn’t usually used when people get married today.
What are your thoughts about this passage? Please share.

Saturday, June 14
Genesis 2:18-25
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle and to the birds of the air and to every animal of the field, but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called Woman,
    for out of Man this one was taken.”
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
One of the purposes of marriage in this story is of companionship. It was not good for the man to be alone. His life would be difficult if he was alone. So God made for the man a helper as his partner.
The last two verses of this passage are often read in wedding services. The man leaves his parents and starts a new family with his wife.
Verse 24 is a reflection of the patriarchal character of this age. A woman is taken from the rib of the man and brought to another man to be married. She is like a piece of property.
Being companions in marriage is a sign of an effective marriage. This companionship is a reflection of the teachings of this story.
What are your thoughts about this story? Please share.

Events

Church Calendar

Please note that the Google calendar is not showing up on iPhones, but will show up on Android devices and all desktop computers (including iMac). Your patience is appreciated while we troubleshoot this issue!

Community Gardens

Chain of Lakes Church is excited to offer a Community Garden Ministry next to the new church building at 2650 125th Ave NE, Blaine, MN 55449. It’s just east of Malmborg’s Garden Center on 125th Ave NE in Blaine or .8 miles east of Radisson Rd on 125th Ave NE, Blaine.