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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

December 8, 2024
“Being a Messenger of Joy” – Praying with Joy

December 1, 2024
“Being a Messenger of Joy” – Finding Joy in Relationships

November 24, 2024
“Listening to God in a World Full of Noise” part 2

November 17, 2024
“Listening to God in a World Full of Noise”

November 10, 2024  – unavailable

November 3, 2024
“Growing With Purpose” part 2

October 27, 2024
“Growing With Purpose”

October 20, 2024
“Talking Faithfully about the Dreaded Word PO#%*ICS” – The Golden Rule

October 13, 2024
“Talking Faithfully about the Dreaded Word PO#%*ICS” – Why is it so hard?

October 6, 2024
“Talking Faithfully About the Dreaded Word PO#%*ICS” – Was Jesus Political?

September 29, 2024
T. Mychael Rambo Guest Preacher

September 22, 2024
“Welcoming Spiritual Refugees” part 2

September 15, 2024
“Welcoming Spiritual Refugees”

September 8, 2024
“Spirit” – Guest preacher Charlie Clark

September 1, 2024
“Spiritual Ancestors” – Mr. Rogers

August 25, 2024
“Spiritual Ancestors” – Mother Teresa

August 18, 2024
“Spiritual Ancestors” – John Calvin

August 11, 2024
“Spiritual Ancestors” – Francis of Assisi

Daily Devotions

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

Monday, December 9
Philippians 1:1-2

Salutation

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Today we are beginning a two-week study of the book of Philippians. This book is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to people who lived in Philippi. Paul traveled to Philippi on his second Missionary journey. His experience in Philippi was shared in Acts 16:11-40. If you have extra time today, read these verses.

These verses share a story of incredible events and brutal danger.

Paul mentioned in his letter that he was in jail when he wrote Philippians. Some believe that he wrote Philippians while jailed in Rome waiting to see what would happen to his case. Eventually Rome is where Paul was killed.

So even though Paul’s circumstances were dire, the tone of Philippians was not. Often the letter is described as a letter of joy. The word “joy” occurs six times in the letter and the words “rejoice” and “be glad” occur eleven times.

This is significant to us. We often think of joy as intense happiness, but it’s much more than that. In his sermon series Pastor Paul has been defining joy as connection. It’s the result of what happens when we experience connection to God or to each other.

Do you have an experience of experiencing joy when you were not happy or life was not going well? Please share.

 

Tuesday, December 10
Philippians 1:3-11

Paul’s Prayer for the Philippians

I thank my God for every remembrance of you, always in every one of my prayers for all of you, praying with joy for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, for all of you are my partners in God’s grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the tender affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what really matters, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

 On Sunday Pastor Paul preached about praying with joy. The Apostle Paul wrote at the beginning of this letter that he was praying with joy for the people who were in Philippi.

We might think of praying with joy as a prayer of praise. Praise is when we extol someone for a quality the person possesses. We often think of praise in terms of praising God. Praising God is extolling God for a quality or characteristic of God.

Praise does something to the person who is sharing praise. When someone is sharing praise that person’s spirits are often lifted. Praise can be very intentional and relational. A person in a committed relationship is connected to another person because of a quality or characteristic of that person. We praise the person for that quality. We can turn our prayer into a prayer of thanks—which is similar to praise. Try this prayer today. “I give thanks for (a person) and for (a particular quality in that person.)

 Meister Eckhart, a mystic who was born in 1260, said “If the only prayer you said in your life was ‘thank you” that would suffice.”

Sharing prayers of praise are healthy for our spirits. You might consider writing down ten qualities of God that you appreciate. Then praise God for those qualities. Your prayer could look like this, “I praise you God for ______.” Say that prayer deliberately and share it over and over.

Do you have experiences of praise in prayer that have been meaningful to you? Please share.

 

Wednesday, December 11
Philippians 1:12-18a

Paul’s Present Circumstances

 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the progress of the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ,  and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear.

 Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry but others from goodwill. These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true, and in that I rejoice.

 Yes, and I will rejoice,

 Even though Paul was in prison, he was full of joy. He saw that his imprisonment was helping to spread the gospel. So though he probably wouldn’t have chosen to be put in prison, the result was something that he appreciated.

In the last part of this passage Paul talked about the motivation of sharing Christ. Some shared or claimed Christ from love, others out of selfish ambition. It didn’t really matter to Paul what a person’s ambition was for proclaiming Christ. What mattered to Paul is that Christ was proclaimed. In this he rejoiced.

This idea might be contrary to our own beliefs. Would you give thanks for something that ended well, but the motivation was not right. You might think that the means did not justify the ends.

Have you had an experience like this? Please share.

 

Thursday, December 12
Philippians 1:18b-30

What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true, and in that I rejoice.

 Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my salvation. It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way but that by my speaking with all boldness Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me, yet I cannot say which I will choose. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that, by my presence again with you, your boast might abound in Christ Jesus because of me.

 Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel and in no way frightened by those opposing you. For them, this is evidence of their destruction but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ but of suffering for him as well, since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

 Paul was at a place in his life where it didn’t matter to him if he lived or died.

“For to me living is Christ and dying is gain.” Philippians 1:20

This is quite an advanced and mature thought. Paul looked forward to death as this meant he would experience salvation. This is how for him dying was gain.

But his life was so significant and so many significant things were happening that he wanted to live. He saw that through his life in prison Christ was being proclaimed.

We might not be in a place where it doesn’t matter to us whether we live or die. We might not look forward to death or we might not be enjoying our life.

Have you had an experience in your life where living is Christ and dying is gain? Please share.

 

Friday, December 13
Philippians 2:1-11

 Imitating Christ’s Humility

If, then, there is any comfort in Christ, any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit, any tender affection and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.

 Therefore God exalted him even more highly and gave him the name that is above every other name, so that at the name given to Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

The verses that Paul shared in six to eleven are known as a Christ hymn.

Verses seven and eight talk about Christ’s life and death in terms of his obedience to what God wanted.

Verses nine through eleven mentioned what God—the first person in the Trinity—did for Jesus.

In verse eleven we read that Christ is Lord. This is the one requirement for being a member or disciple at Chain of Lakes. Everyone acknowledges that Jesus is Lord. This means that Jesus is first in our life.

Praying about how Jesus is Lord in our life can be helpful to us. This might be a prayer of yours today, “Lord, may I acknowledge in my words and actions that you are first in my life.”

What does it mean to you to say that Jesus is Lord? Please share.

Saturday, December 14

Philippians 2:12-18

Shining as Lights in the World

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence but much more now in my absence, work on your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

 Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world, holding forth the word of life so that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

 But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the service of your faith, I rejoice, and I rejoice together with all of you; in the same way also you should rejoice and rejoice together with me.

Paul shared that we are to work out our own salvation. This doesn’t mean that our salvation or eternal life comes to us because of one particular prayer or from our own goodness. What it means is each of us is responsible for our own faith journey. No matter what happens to our faith, we are ultimately responsible for how that faith is lived.

Paul was thankful for the relationship he had with the people at Philippi. He was glad and rejoiced at their connection—even a connection that he experienced while he was in jail.

What are some connections that have been meaningful to you recently? Please share.

Monday, December 2
Read Psalm 5:11

Yesterday Pastor Paul began an Advent sermon series called, “Being a Messenger of Joy.” This week we will have the opportunity to read Scriptures in the Psalms about joy. Thirty-nine times the word “joy” is found in the Psalms; thirty-eight times the word “rejoice” is found in the Psalms.

Many times the word is found in a Psalm where the writer of the Psalm is lamenting over something that happened. The word or idea of joy is more than an experience of happiness. Sometimes we could be sad and have an experience of joy.

This verse from Psalm 5 describes the energy of joy. The writer of the Psalm wants people to sing for joy. A terrific place for this to happen is in worship. When people are gathered, they participate in the spiritual energy of singing. Sometimes what is most memorable for people during worship is the joy that happens during the singing.

A person obviously doesn’t need to have a high-quality voice to sing for joy. What is important is the energy into which the person gives to singing. This energy results in connection—joy.

Can you remember a time in your own life when you were especially attuned to singing for joy? Please share.

 Tuesday, December 3
Read Psalm 16:11

If you have some extra time, read all eleven verses of Psalm 16. The writer of the Psalm is pleading with God to provide protection in the person’s life. The Psalm ends with a statement of faith. In God’s presence there is fullness of joy.

The word is more than intense happiness. When a person comes into the presence of God that person can experience the fullness of joy. A relationship with God can bring joy.

Often when we think of God we might think of love. And joy is part of the character of God too. At Chain of Lakes love and joy have been combined into a Core Value of joyful love. We expect that when people gather they will experience joyful love. It is foundational to our own church community.

Do you have a story of experiencing joyful love? Your experiences are helpful to know for people as they reflect on this idea of joyful love.

Please share.

 Wednesday, December 4
Read Psalm 21:6

How do we know if we are experiencing God? One way is through the acknowledgement of joy. When we experience joy we are connected to God.

In this Psalm we see the connection of God’s presence and joy. The writer of the Psalm was praying for the leader or the king. The writer of the Psalm wanted the leader or king to experience the joy of God’s presence.

We might not have grown up with an understanding that joy is a characteristic of God. We might have been taught that God is judgmental or critical of us—waiting to pounce on the mistakes or even sins that we make.

But we don’t get this sense of God in this Psalm. Instead God is joy and bestows this characteristic onto people.

Do you often think of God as articulating joy? Why or Why Not? Please share.

Thursday, December 5
Read Psalm 126

Sometimes God does something that surprises us beyond our comprehension of what we thought would happen. This is what the writer of the Psalm is expressing in the first part of this Psalm.

The people had dreamed that the Lord would restore the fortunes of Zion, but they weren’t sure it would happen. When it did happen, the people were full of joy.

On occasion God surprises us.

It’s not healthy to put God into a box. God is not going to stay in the box that we might try to put around God. God is going to leave that box and surprise us. This is why it’s so important to always be on alert for God.

Often our surprises will lead us to be filled with laughter and to shout with joy.

Do you have a time when you were surprised by something that God did? Please share.

Friday, December 6
Read Psalm 30:4-5

This is a Psalm of a person who was delivered from death to life. The writer of the Psalm shared the experience of having his mourning turned into dancing. The suffering and sackcloth that the person was raising was turned into joy.

This is often the movement of the spiritual life. We experience something terrible, but that experience is turned into joy. The story of the crucifixion and resurrection is a primary reflection of this movement. Jesus was dead, but his death turned into resurrection, which is celebrated every Sunday in worship.

“Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

This could have been a description of what happened to Jesus on Good Friday and then Easter.

Joy does not happen in a vacuum. Often it is the result of a person shedding pain and experiencing something greater.

Do you have a story of your own pain being turned into joy? Please share.

Saturday, December 7
Read Psalm 98:6-8

We end the week where we started—reading a verse about the power of singing. When we sing in worship we are not required to have a beautiful voice or end up with a presentation that would happen at a choir concert.

Instead we are asked to make a joyful noise.

What is the energy behind our singing – is it exuberant? Are we embarrassed by our own voice, so we diminish the energy that we share? Or do we ignore what other people might think and make a joyful noise.

The Scriptures are clear about what is preferred. When we sing with others we open our hearts to experiencing the joy of the Lord. We come into contact with a presence that is far beyond us.

The way that we sing can have a big effect on the joy we might experience.

How easy is it for you to sing with joy? Do you worry about what other people will think of your singing? Or are you able to sing with exuberance, not worried about your neighbor?

Events

Christmas Concert Ticket (950 x 323 px) 2024

Community Gardens

Very big pumpkin grown in the Chain of Lakes Community Garden by Jeremy Feuks. 10/7/2021
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.
 
The garden is open to the wider community, not just people who attend Chain of Lakes.
 
Contact the office for information at 763.465.8585 or info@colpres.org
 
If you are interested in a garden plot complete this form:
Community Garden Plot Application 2024 – Chain of Lakes
 
Please print and complete the application, and up until May 22, mail to:
Chain of Lakes Church
2650 125th Ave NE
Blaine, MN 55449

Click on Photos for Clear Picture - More Photos on the Local Impact and Youth & Family pages

Some highlights from recent events in the community! Click on image for clear, entire picture